Us No more words needed to describe love
by Radiklement
Summary: AU one-shot where Noctis and Luna both survived the end of the game and gets to live together with as much carefreeness as the sovereigns of an apocalyptic world on the mend can have. Their marriage anniversary is on the horizon and Noctis isn't ready. Fluff-fest and some Ignoct bromance in the beginning. Boderline smut mixed into this slice of life fic.
1. Chapter 1

Enjoy a peaceful Noctis and Luna facing just a little politics in between showering each other in love.

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Us. No need for more letters to describe love

Noctis's last real day off had been two months ago and it was starting to show. Ignis did his best to alleviate his work, but they were both loaded with tasks from the most trivial paperwork or phone call to three hours meeting with the new council or the weekly audiences with civilians. All his free time was spent with his wife, lady Lunafreya, last Oracle and queen of Lucis and Tenebrae.

There had been some difficulties at first in arranging their time between Tenebrea, the new capital of Nifhleim, and the continent of Lucis. Luna had no family left to rule in her stead and the pair wanted Eos to be a haven from top to bottom. Rebuilding cities and refurbishing the Festenala manor was a constant effort and sadly, after agreeing they would eventually stay half a year in Tenebrae and the rest of it in Lucis, Noctis and Luna had been forced to accept they couldn't stay more than a few months until Lestallum was safer. Noctis couldn't fight like he used to and though his armiger was fully unlocked, the nerve damage sustained in his battle against Ardyn had never entirely healed.

Eos was in a dire state and while the sun was back and the daemons had left, building back upon the damage already done and with the little people they had was difficult. Ignis had warned Noctis about spreading his people too thin, but the many people who had been forced out of their home and taken as refugees in Lestallum wanted to start again in their country.

Fixing Lestallum from being over-populated and its walls and protections repaired in a rush after every daemon break-in had taken the first six month of Noctis's rule. In the chaos that had ensued his return and him winning over Ardyn, Noctis had been struggling to find a balance. He was compelled to work until he dropped to compensate for the ten years he spent sleeping inside of the crystal, gathering his strength and power.

He'd thought dying was his only destiny once he'd defeated Ardyn, since that was what Bahamut, his ancestors and the crystal had all insisted upon. But he survived the toll of his armiger and Luna was allowed back into the world after cleaning Ardyn from the scourge, the accursed one taking her place in the after-life. The despair Noctis had felt upon waking in his throne room, bleeding but alive and knowing he wouldn't see his princess for a few more years had been short-lived. His Luna had been found in the gardens and while their first meeting had been brief due to fading consciousness on both parts, the pair had cried from joy when they could finally reach out to each other, their hands touching instead of one of them fading away.

Their wedding had been sober and intimate, Noctis and Luna agreeing to have a bigger ceremony for the citizens once things had settled more. The last thing the King wanted was to dilapidate resources they needed to start again in Insomnia and Galdyn Quay. Adapting to the fact he was a 30 year old man and she was still 24 had taken them some time, as they slowly adjusted to being together in person and not just writing to each other. Almost two years after their wedding, it was impossible for any citizen to doubt how in love their King and Queen were. Luna preferred to stay discreet, but she needed every little touch, holding his hand and leaning closer to him when they sat side by side, even agreeing to snuggle with him under his cape when a ceremony lasted too long. The last case was only to please Noctis, since she could withstand the cold much better than him.

That morning, Noctis had woken up first and allowed himself to take the time to look at his sleeping wife. The way her hair was tangled on her shoulder, the gentle rise of her chest, how light and soft the fabric of her gown was and how she inched a little more on his side of the bed when he leaned his head on one arm and roll to the side. He outlined the shell of her ear, brushing aside locks of platinum blond hair, running his fingertips along the side of her face lovingly.

He had little moments when he doubted his life was real. How could she be back in his life, how many nights would he feel the need to look for her in the bed, to check her pulse or just brush her nose to have an excuse to confirm she was breathing. He'd promised to get over it and he wanted to, because it made her sad to see even the slightest remnants of his sadness and guilt about her passing.

"How early is it?" she asked him sleepily.

"Too early to be as beautiful as you. Sleep more, my Queen."

"When you compliment me like that, the last thing I want to do is sleep," she smiled, her eyes batting open in a deliberately slow manner.

Noctis took it as his cue, pulling her in a warm embrace and nuzzling her neck, his beard tickling her while his lips threatened to make her shiver. Her hands drew circles in his back and down his sides, Luna whining slightly for a real kiss, which had him chuckling as he obliged her.

He could never get enough of her and only parted from her to stop his alarm clock.

"I'd love more lazy mornings with you, Noct, but we both have a long day ahead of us."

"I think we should cut it shorter. When was the last time we enjoyed breakfast in bed?"

"I… I remember it faintly."

"I'm a bad husband," he sighed, closing his eyes as she massaged his scalp to fully relish her attention. "You think your letters to the first secretary can wait a little more?"

"It's a video chat actually, and she expects me at 8h45. I can't be late."

He pouted, and Luna shook her head.

"How about you free yourself for an early dinner?" she offered. "Then we can enjoy a walk in the gardens and retire for an early night."

"Can I have a preview of what you have in mind for this early night?"

When she tried glancing at the clock on his nightstand, he rolled her on back, stealing her lips for a long kiss and Luna gave up on good sense for a few more minutes in his arms. She liked to tease him about how unreasonable he made her and this morning was no exception.

Around 7h30, the King's phone buzzed, and he grumbled something about Ignis always being on his back.

"The world would be in shambles if it wasn't for him."

"You always know what to say, huh? It seems I must leave the confine of your arms, dearest."

Luna pretended misery and threw one hand on her forehead.

"How can I survive in your absence my King?"

"You must, for my world would in shambles without you in it," he kissed her head and then her forehead and Luna pulled him into one last kiss before to gently push him out of bed. "See you at lunch?"

"I'm having lunch with Iris and her sister-in-law today."

"Oh, that's right."

Iris was getting married and Noctis almost found it weirder than Gladiolus did. That particular lunch was ladies only and he accepted the idea he wouldn't see Luna before dinner. Another buzz of his phone made him worry Ignis might burst into the room given a few more minutes and he hurried out of bed as he realized it was 7h45. He needed to be in full Kingly gear in a matter of minutes now. Luna offered to help him, but they both knew he'd be late if they did, the pair acting like a newlywed couple even after all these months. Being together was still so fresh and unreal.

Noctis showed up to his office at 8, having sent a dozen texts to Ignis and a few to Prompto too only as a revenge.

 _If I can't sleep, at least, Prompto can't either._

"Childish," Ignis commented as he walked in.

He was sitting at Noctis's desk, setting order to his papers, recognizing them from the various seal embossed in a corner.

"Referring to me?" Noctis asked, fighting against a smile.

"Who else? This meeting with the hunters' representatives is in 20 minutes and I can't stress how important it is that you revise…"

Noctis tried to pick the corresponding paper and spotted a blank spot in his agenda that had him looking twice.

"Iggy, there's something weird with my schedule next week."

"Surely that can wait, Noct," his advisor observed, pushing his visor glasses a bit higher on his nose.

"You gave me three days off. I can't take three days off right now, there's…"

Ignis's eyes widened, which made him wince, because his star-shaped scar had remained quite sensitive to such movement, the pain due to the magic involved in the wound.

"Don't tell me you really forgot about it, Noct. It's your second anniversary with lady Lunafreya."

Noctis gave a second look at the date and paled as he realized he'd forgotten.

"You didn't order my gift in advance, did you?"

"That would be inconsiderate and disgraceful. But I have noted down a list of ideas we went over last year when you were in a deep state of panic."

Noctis blushed a little, remembering the mess of nerves he'd been. If Luna hadn't been so humble he would have smothered her in gifts already, but she preferred his presence and the simplest things.

"Three days… Is three days enough for a trip somewhere?"

Ignis frowned at that.

"Three days was the best I could do at the moment, but if you're thinking about having your honeymoon, I'd say we need to extend your time off."

"Giving her a honeymoon shouldn't even count as a gift, should it? I can't believe we've postponed it for so long."

"Noctis, I understand your disarray, but we need to focus on today and that meeting, which is in… I don't want to know anymore," Ignis sighed. "Here. In two hours, you can panic as much as you want about being a fool."

"Wow. Thank you so much Iggy."

"You're most welcome."

…

"How could I forget?!"

Ignis patted Noctis on the shoulders after the man had dropped himself in his office chair, his nerves officially shot after the extended meeting with the hunters asking him for more social advantages when he'd just managed to balance the kingdom's economy. At some point during the ten years of darkness, gils had lost its value, people turning to trading off goods and services, or shards of meteor. Reinstating a monetary system had been a nightmare and maintaining it wasn't any easier.

"We've been trying to tilt back on its axis a dying world. It will be a tedious and slow process. Forgetting things here and there is quite understandable."

"But this is my Luna we're talking about."

"I nearly forgot Aranea's birthday a few months ago," Ignis confessed. "Doesn't help how little of a fuss she makes about it."

"Oh really? How did you remember it in the end?"

"Aurora jumped on my back one night, asking me what we were doing for her mother's birthday."

Noctis smiled widely, picturing it quite well. His advisor had become a father at some point during the eternal night and his 7-year-old daughter was simply adorable. She had far too much energy to sit still and had turned every of her few dresses into rags with her hunts around the streets and camps. And her memory was unbelievable. Gladiolus really had to watch his mouth when around her.

"She's still crazy about dates, huh?" The King asked.

Ignis tried not to beam with pride, but he lost all modesty when it came to his family and Aurora's tendency to recite dates she'd learned for random events to every stranger she met was very endearing.

"I swear, if I can find time, I'll make an historian out of her."

"Doubt Aranea would like that."

"Let's try to stay on track," Ignis reminded him. "Do you need an extended vacation or not?"

Noctis ran his hands through his hair as he wondered which gift would be best. On their first anniversary, he'd taken Luna to a retreat close to Galdyn Quay, away from prying eyes, offering her one week of being two normal people head over heels for each other. He didn't want to repeat himself, but he wanted his gift to be meaningful all the same.

"Maybe two more days?" he suggested, sounding quite unsure.

"Do I need to remind you you're the King, Noct? If you want time off…"

"I don't want you running double shifts to cover for me, I know you only trust Talcott with our paperwork and someone would have to take over for Luna too."

"I can deal with this, stop worrying and let me help you planning before our next meeting."

"Damn, is it the engineers again?"

"The Tenebrae committee this time," Ignis corrected.

Noctis perked up at the notion.

"Are the repairs finally done? Because that could actually work. Letting Luna enjoy her home restored to its former glory!"

"Which you have no merit for."

"I'm financing it."

Ignis raised one brow at him.

"Okay, fine, our people is financing it. But it's the same for Lestallum and Meldacio and Galdyn… Where are we with those places? Is there something I need to sign?"

"You sound about ready to collapse in a panic, Noct, you don't need a honeymoon, I think you need actual vacations. And maybe sleeping pills."

He put one hand on his forehead as he faked to take his temperature and Noctis shrugged him off.

"No way! 5 days off and a car, that's all I need."

"You don't want food?"

"Well, I thought that was always implied," Noctis teased him back, sitting a bit straighter in his chair.

"Might be complicated to keep things under wraps when I tell Lady Lunafreya she's getting five days off."

"I have faith in your discretion Iggy."

Ignis slapped the foot Noctis was merely starting to put on his desk with the back of his hand.

"Quite the honor, your Highness, I shall see to it then. If you'll excuse me."

Noctis puffed his cheeks in mocked offense and made it a point to excuse him loudly when he walked out of his office, surely to check in with Talcott and Monica to re-organize Luna's schedule.

"Okay, I need a destination, a nice surprise and flowers," he told to himself, trying to find the list Ignis had mentioned earlier.

…

Noctis couldn't make it back to his quarters before 9 that night, since he was trying to make up for his upcoming break. Ignis had commented on how much of a workaholic he'd turned into since marrying Lunafreya, but it was only so that his queen and friends wouldn't be taking the work he was supposed to be doing. He had been given a second chance at life and didn't want to waste it idly when he could fix so many things his father had left broken.

In fact, it was a quarter past nine when Luna stepped into his office, carrying a small package under one arm. She'd been kind and patient in her texts back to him, as she always was and Noctis couldn't help feeling ashamed at the idea he was neglecting her.

"Hey, wanted to make sure my husband was only dating paperwork when he's not around our royal suite."

Her teasing was clear but Noctis still winced.

"I'm sorry I didn't stop earlier. I ordered Ignis out at 7, since Aranea would boil me alive otherwise."

"Wonder what I shall do with you then," Luna raised one eyebrow suggestively at him and Noctis couldn't help the smirk that came. It had taken months for his queen to become so bold, but the fact she was this comfortable around him, feeling comfortable for maybe the first time in her entire life, was a relief when he thought about all the times he'd failed her.

"Need suggestions?"

"Not yet," Luna declared, pushing his paperwork to lay a basket of food on his desk. "I thought you'd forget to eat and what sort of wife would I be if I let my King go hungry?"

"You're too good for me, Luna. Now I feel even worse about not calling it a night faster…"

"We made a promise about not living in the past, did we not?"

Upon finally being reunited, Noctis and Luna had experienced many weeks of regrets regarding their situation. There were a thousand reasons to feel bad, about what had happened in Altissia, about the fact he wasn't in Insomnia when she'd been here for the attack. She'd apologized for not protecting his father better, for not delivering the ring to him sooner, for leaving him on his own after that brief smile they'd exchanged… After falling asleep with a sore throat and red eyes for one too many nights, Noctis decided they needed to move on to their actual time together.

"Well, are you planning on enjoying this snack with me, beautiful Queen?"

Luna agreed after a little more prodding, giggling at the abundance of compliments he used to convince her. She was a light eater and rarely snacked, since she'd grown with the idea it was unfitting of a princess. Noctis was glad his more easy-going vision of royalty was slowly rubbing off on her. His wife sat on a corner of his desk, insisting she was fine like this and needed to stretch her legs after a long day of meetings and deskwork. They talked about their respective day and mostly about Iris's upcoming wedding, or what a disaster Gladio's wedding had been.

"Is this all fruit and cheese?" Noctis asked while rummaging through the basket.

"Are you going to complain about healthy snacks? I'm trying to look after you."

"You should do that from closer," he teased her, phasing through his chair so he could be standing next to her in a blur of light.

She yelped in surprise, her hands falling on his chest as he held her shoulder with one hand and her waist with the other, effectively steadying her.

"Don't warp after me like that," Luna chided him, fighting against her blushing smile.

"You know I can't wait to have you in my arms when you're around. It feels like empty space until I can hold you again."

She tugged on his collar, Noctis following her silent demand, his lips locking with hers for a short but heated kiss that left them both wanting.

"Where did this come from?"

"I hope you realize how much I love you, even when I'm making you wait because of work."

"I love you very much my dear Noct, and I know how important this work is. We both have still so much to do. Saving the world was only the first step after all."

He kissed her once more, lingering longer this time, only parting with her as he felt her hands shifting, her palms giving him the slightest push.

"I must admit I'd rather continue this in our apartments," she told him with a smile that seemed frail. "And I haven't taken Pryna and Umbra on their walk yet this evening, so maybe you could join me? Spend sometime outside while there's still light."

Her hand tensed against his arm, Luna worrying her lower lip for the shortest instant.

"Sure. Is… everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just… My test results came in today."

Noctis stared into her eyes in alarm, his thoughts going in too many directions at once. Their second chance at life hadn't come without a price. Luna was weaker than she used to be, a result of the magic toll the covenants, the Lucii ring and the fact she recovered a corporeal form had taken from her. Noctis had discovered with time and various tests his own… limitations. He still struggled to put it into words and decided to focus on her.

"You didn't say anything this morning," he observed, his face falling a bit.

"You always worry too much when I remind you of these things, and must I remind you, I am a healer! I can sense myself. I assure you, I'm perfectly healthy. I'll be slow if you race me in the garden, but…"

She was paling a little as she halted midway, still debating with herself if she should tell him what she'd learned.

"Luna…"

"I know it's a sore spot for us both. Sometimes I fear it's the reason why you feel the need to keep at work for so long."

He held her hands in his, realizing he knew just what she was going to tell him.

"As you know, my cycle wasn't stable until now and it was hard to tell why, but it's pretty certain that… having a child will be nothing short of a miracle for us."

"That's on me, Luna, we've known for months now…"

Noctis hadn't been in any hurry to conceive a child since he wanted to enjoy time with his Queen to him alone after how long it took for them to be reunited, but they both wanted kids eventually. So they seldomly used protection. Both royals were under close medical surveillance considering they both should have been dead if it wasn't for a divine intervention. Only one child to call their own would have been enough, sadly, the last Caelum was barely fertile. The few treatments they'd tried had made him sick and he was still making his peace with this loss, blaming the crystal in the back of his mind.

"It's not only you. I had always blamed my stressful life for my weird cycle, but now there's no excuse for it outside of my body being… wrong. I don't know if I didn't put myself back together right, but I'm… barren."

"Luna," he croaked, devastated by the tears gathering in her eyes and the words she'd choose. "There's nothing wrong with your body."

"But you give me so much and I can't even…!"

"Hey, my odds of getting you pregnant were already pretty low thanks to whatever magic warped my insides. Being able to live a full life with you is more than enough."

He remembered asking her if it could be enough for her, but his voice couldn't repeat those words, not when she managed to blurt out his name, lips trembling and her hands reaching up to cup his face. She barely felt the tickle of his beard against her palms, all she could feel was the dozen apologies she wanted to whisper.

"I'm not saying I want more…" Luna desperately tried to keep her voice steady through her words, Noctis pulling her into his arms, brushing her hair and resisting his need to hide his face against the crook of her neck.

"I know. My sweet Luna, you'd never dare want more."

"And then you make me dream we could have everything, and…"

"I'm sorry," he sighed against her hair, her shivers mixing into his.

"I don't want you to be," Luna pleaded with him.

"Well, I am. I am and so are you and what kind of fools does that make us?! It's neither of our fault."

She knew, objectively, rationally and she felt bad for driving him into a wall by bringing this up now, but… hearing the news alone and keeping it to herself as she waited for him to get home had been worse than she'd imagined. All this time, even though she'd insisted he lived in the present, Noctis had blamed himself alone. How he wanted to protect her even in this situation. She remembered the words he'd told her once.

" _You blame yourself so easily, I'm glad the problem's with me."_

It had been a very clumsy way of seeing a positive side to his state and now Luna was taking that away, but she hoped the fact they could share the blame would make it easier. It was too early to speak about treatments or adoption, right now, they both needed to let the news sink in, to accept the fact starting a family might never be for them.

"I can barely be the Oracle anymore and there won't be…"

"It's okay Luna, the world doesn't need an Oracle, the scourge is gone," he reminded her, kissing her forehead before adding. "I will always need you."

"And me you, Noct."

She dried her tears, even though she knew they would come back eventually. Mourning such a dream would take time and that was exactly what Noctis had given her when he'd won his fight. He was feigning calm for her sake and because he knew the feint would shift to truth as soon as she calmed down. He pulled back just enough to look into her eyes, offering her a fragile smile.

"Do you feel a bit better?"

"A bit. I needed to tell you."

Noctis nodded, biting on his upper lip.

"Do you want to get out of this office as much as I do?"

"Yes…" Luna started, shuffling closer to him so she could slip off the desk and to her feet. "Although… The walk can wait. I need to be in your arms right now," she confessed.

"Oh, you are not getting out of my embrace before both of our hearts calm down. We promised, no regrets!" he reminded her.

"You'll have a few if you don't take me back to our apartments in the next few minutes."

She gasped when he lifted her in his arms, bridal style.

"Hold on tight, then!"

"Noct!"

It was a distraction and they both knew it, but what mattered was if it worked.

…

The walk to their bedchambers had been a blur, and rightfully so since Noctis literally phased through hallways and stairs, taking the smallest detours to avoid stumbling onto a servant and giving them a heart attack.

He rarely used his powers outside of combat situations and training now and his training had been reduced to take into account the state of his body. His bad leg had gotten worse, the brace needed to help him stand when his knee started acting up. Luna's light couldn't fix large wounds anymore and her magic barely worked on him, as though their powers nullified each other's. He sat her on the bed as he kicked off his shoes and socks, Luna helping him in removing the metal brace. She fumbled a little more than she'd wished for, but Noctis always had a word to make her laugh about it.

"Not quite as complicated as those corsets you used to wear."

"Feels silly to think I needed the added help to support my back…"

"We're both in ruins, aren't we…?" He dejectedly whispered.

"Well, you're a sexy ruin if I ever saw one. What are you hiding under there?"

Noctis held back on a whine when her hands drift down his ribs and further down, applying the briefest pressure on him, pulling away almost as quickly as they'd reached out.

"Don't get shy on me now, Luna."

He brought her hands up to his lips, kissing the inside of her palms and her wrists in that slow way that always made her blush.

"I'm not shy and you're too sweet. I shouldn't feel like this, but somehow… I feel inadequate?"

She wanted to act like nothing was changed, because she had been damaged from the first time he'd seen her in this new life they had. She had been damaged every time. Noctis knew full well how that felt, paling slightly. He squeezed her hands in his, shaking his head at her.

"You're perfect as you are. And if I don't make you feel that way every day, Ramuh has better come down and strike me where I stand."

That had a frail giggle out of her and she squeezed his hands back, blinking a single tear away.

"Don't tempt that old man," Luna warned him. "He has an awful sense of humor."

"Come here."

The first dozen kisses were tender and slow, until she complained about already feeling too fragile.

"I know you won't break that easily. My hands are just here to hold you together so I _can_ hold," Noctis whispered between kisses.

"You can use my hands for that," she offered, flushing as he parted from her, his eyes clearly getting drunk on her.

"I don't like the idea of using you for anything, my sylleblossom."

"Noct…"

Their clothes were discarded, half in a rush, half a slow dance when either of their fears threatened to swallow them whole. She begged for his arms around her, his touch and Noctis found the patience to drive her right to the edge, over and over, using his fingers, tongue and lips in the ways that would make even her shy voice shift to outright moans instead of whispers.

"Don't make me wait, or the next time I'm…"

"Threats? My darling Oracle wouldn't…"

"Please, cut it out," she panted, her eyes hazy as they held on to him, "I need you, Noct."

"I'm never getting tired of those words," he breathed out, a smirk tugging on the corner of his lips.

Her hands were more than impatient on him now, guiding him to her and there was no way he could resist. Like he wanted to. He loved the feel of her skin, her warmth, the way her hips shifted with his, the little sounds letting him know how close…

He wanted to blow her mind tonight, to remind her of how good they were together. There couldn't be anything wrong with them when they made each other feel so complete, so right and whatever mourning they had to do regarding their future was nothing if their time in Eos was spent together.

"Oh gods…"

Luna was shivering with him, her arms limp by her sides as he hid his face against her chest through the last waves of bliss, trying to engrave into his mind every little movement, and the way she sighed in contentment. Her voice was barely working.

"I want to hold you too, but I feel so weak…" she confessed.

He kissed her shoulder, drawing a new path of shivers up her collarbone and neck.

"It's okay, Luna. I didn't mean to push you that…"

"I needed this, Noct. I simply wished I was more…"

He kissed her apologies silent, gently turning her to her side as he lied next to her, his bad leg begging for a reprieve.

"I don't need more than the woman in my arms now."

Her smile made his heart flutter and he sighed in approval as she shuffled closer, snuggling up to him.

"I'm a spoiled wife. I hope I don't ever turn difficult."

"Hard to see that happening," he laughed with her, stroking her hair and relishing the feel of her breathing against his neck.

"Give me time," Luna teased him. "I'm certain I can drive you crazy."

"As long as it's not with you running ahead of me on some perilous trip."

"You should know I don't like using the same trick twice."

Her fingers tickled his side and he could have argued that she did that far too often, but he was simply glad to have her in his arms. Maybe after spending 10 full years with her he could consider taking her for granted, but he never wanted to.

…

Noctis hadn't expected the shock on her face when he told Luna they were going off on a trip on the morning of their last day of work before their small vacation.

"When were you going to tell me? I know the recent events made you restless and it's selfish of me to say this, but… I had plans for tomorrow, Noct, I don't want to cancel them if it's possible."

He frowned. Ignis had said he'd taken care of clearing up her schedule through Monica, but apparently, that hadn't been done.

"I meant it as a surprise," the King struggled to keep his countenance, wondering if he'd handled things poorly.

Just a few days ago, a few hundreds of people had resurfaced from an underground city of bunkers hidden under Gralea, begging for help. It was a nightmare to find the resources to sustain them and the infrastructures to house them in, the bunkers broken down by a surge of daemons.

Iris had gathered her soldiers, Cor following suit despite his aching joints and Gladiolus would move out soon, Noctis feeling bad that the honeymoon he so badly wanted to give Luna would serve as a prelude to his own travel to Gralea, so he could face the daemons and supervise the rescue effort himself.

"Well, if your surprise involves travelling on the suspicious day off Ignis gave us both before we'd even heard of Nifhleimers' plight… I believe I should still be warned beforehand. Not that I'm in any place to point fingers, since my plans for tomorrow were about us spending the day together."

Noctis could have slapped himself. She hadn't forgotten their anniversary and of course she'd planned something for it. Luna had spoiled him last year, with a day alone with her in Galdyn Quay, and all the teasing the refined Queen of Tenebrae was capable of when wearing a _very_ tiny bikini. His mind went in too many directions at once as he wondered what she might have in store for him, but Luna was speaking again, taking hold of his hands to get his full attention.

"So give me one day for your surprise and then we can go off on that trip you prepared. I made sure with Ignis the delay wouldn't be a problem with everything happening…"

"It will be fine," he reassured her. "We make quite the pair, huh, keeping secrets and nearly cancelling each other's plans without meaning to?"

"Guess we deserve each other," she smiled, letting out a small gasp when he bent down to steal her lips for a brief but loving kiss.

"I want to keep you in bed all day," he sighed, reluctantly parting from her mouth.

"You'll see me at the audiences this afternoon and can try to keep your attention on the speeches instead of what we could be doing behind closed doors," Luna taunted him before taking a step back just as his hands were wondering on her few exposed curves. "I need to get prepared, I have orphanages to visit and a museum to inaugurate."

"By the gods, Luna, you always sound busier than me."

"I'm just going to wave and look pretty," she joked, both of them knowing full well she would have a nice word for every kid she met and might go as far as hugging every last one of them in turns.

As for the museum, it was a memorial to the Oracle line and the origins of the Scourge, a bold choice for the royals, but a necessity to keep Eos's history known unlike what had been done in the past, the population left wondering what was happening with their ruler.

"I should be there with you for that museum," Noctis sighed.

"We talked about this before. I'll be fine on my own."

Most of Noctis's day would be spent with dignitaries from Gralea and Altissia as they'd work out the finer details of what to do with the former citizens of Niflheim.

"I'm grateful, Luna," Noctis whispered, his queen whipping around with a frown on her face, half dressed and looking just a tad too pale. "I mean, I couldn't imagine someone as supportive as you by my side to face all this."

"You're doing a really good job at taking everything in strides."

"All thanks to you, dear."

He helped her pulling her dress the rest of the way up and with the many buttons and lacing involved, planting a single kiss on her exposed neck, his heart warming at her resulting giggle.

Every stolen moment was so perfect, he felt ready to turn in the worst thief this world had seen.

"Noctis, I need to leave this room in ten minutes."

"I think I should have left half an hour ago, but Ignis hasn't called me ye…"

His phone buzzed and they both chuckled, the Oracle actually protesting as his arms pulled away from her with the cutest whine. Noctis couldn't help running his fingers along her neck and into her hair, kiss the crown of her head.

"My queen needs me?" he asked her.

It felt like running away from their duties, but Luna played along, careful of not leaning into him in order not to mess her dress with wrinkles.

"Well, helping me prepare is an important task, I'm sure Ignis would understand."

"I'll order him to if he doesn't."

"Noct!" she chided him half-heartedly, before biting on her lower lip as she considered the clock on her nightstand. "Can you get me my circlet?"

Her legs felt numb this early in the morning and Noctis was happy to oblige her, insisting to crown her head himself. He knew the maids would wag their fingers at them for refusing to let them help the queen prepare, but it was worth it for spending more time alone with her.

"I take it the museum is first on your list?"

"And I'll have three wardrobe changes before the end of the day."

"My wife is such a rock star," he said, earning himself a playful slap on the shoulder.

"Get your butt to work, husband."

"Lunafreya!"

"Pretty please, before I really make myself late."

Their day went by in a flash, and while looking darker by the time they met in the audience room, Noctis taking a seat on his throne while Luna sat by his side, their hands itching to reach over the armrest and toward their other half. They were both exhausted, Noctis nearly falling asleep in his plate of behemoth tenderloin and Luna actually asking for his help once in their chambers, fighting against the many pins holding her hairstyle together to no avail.

"You know, this is how you get headaches," he cautioned.

"And this is how I have your head turning when I pass by your office."

"My head always turns for you."

Slipping in comfortable clothes for the night, they shared a few kisses and tucked each other in, sleep taking over before they could even exchange a word on her plans for the following day.

…

"Good morning Noct!"

He groaned at the push on his shoulder, moaning at the pressure on his body before realizing something warm and soft was leaning… straddling?

"Up, up, up!" she insisted.

"Luna, we have the… day off," he grumbled throughout one heavy yawn.

Her lips brushed against his chin, her nails grazing him through his shirt and he wished for no barrier between their skin. Why did she smell so good? He was certain she'd skipped her shower last night, convinced by him to forego washing so they could sleep off their remaining worries.

"And apparently, I have little time for your surprise, so I need you up and awake. It's already ten."

"What?!"

Sleeping in was rare for the King and he snapped his eyes open, discovering her smiling face hovering just out of reach unless he lifted himself on one elbow and…

She pulled away with a wider smile, sparkles in her eyes.

"You, sir, are going to shower first and brush your teeth."

"Luna," he whined childishly.

"You'd rather sleep instead of spending time with me?" she shot back, mocking dejection.

Noctis was fully awake now and struggled to sit up in their bed, fighting against the sheets that were awkwardly rolled around his legs from tossing and turning in his sleep. Whenever he didn't feel her body next to his, his slumber would turn chaotic. He tried to get a good look at her, but Luna was gathering clothes from drawers and threw a few of them at him, effectively covering his eyes.

"Get clean and meet me in the gardens," she asked him.

"Where do you find all this energy?" he mused, remembering how frail she'd felt in his arms last night.

"I intend to surprise you all day today," she shot back. "Glad it's working."

She was already moving to exit the room and Noctis wanted to call her back, so they could lie back in bed and mess around instead of hurrying outside, but her smile was too bright, and he accepted to play her game. It had taken such a long time for Luna to even be this outgoing with him. As he got up and took in the fact the clothes she wanted him to wear were all casual, -was this the shirt he had on his back when he set out to meet with her in Altissia?- Noctis remembered the first surprise she'd given him.

… _36 months ago…_

Noctis's body was sitting on his throne, hunched over, blood spilling over his father's sword. His soul was far, far gone, pierced by wings of metal, wings of blades that tore on the very fabric of his mind.

 _It's over, it's finally over, the scourge is gone, I'm done._

 _We won, guys._

And like Ardyn faded and he started fading himself, until there was no light left, not a thought. Than his spirit unfurled back in his body and Regis's Glaive clattered against the floor and the pain…

He shrieked as his friends desperately tried to stop the bleeding. Gladio was yelling something and Prompto was shaking and Ignis pushed more elixirs into their hands, snapping them to order.

 _I thought I'd be done._

Noctis wanted to open his eyes, but the aches from every of his cells bursting and shifting over themselves, the gaping wound in his chest begging to take him away, the fresh scars from burning himself channeling the spirits of the Lucii. His skin was grey and red, his eyes were dark, dark black holes and his heart was spilling, barely held together by light.

 _Light?_

"We're losing him!"

 _Not yet,_ Regis told Noctis, his voice soft, the wounded King's scream breaking into a desperate rasp for air.

His eyes were still closed for most of it, he could only guess what his friends were doing, what they were looking like but he saw something beneath her eyelids. A light so strong and pure. It mended his skin and while Gladiolus swore under his breath, Prompto nearly clapped his hands.

"It's a miracle! Noct, Noct, are you okay? Can you hear us?"

Noctis didn't want to look at them, in fear parting his eyelids would make the light go away. It felt like her. Like that time in Altissia when his broken back and sore limbs had been rejuvenated. It was stronger, bringing him back from further and he jumped to his feet, fighting against the three pairs of arms trying to hold him down.

"Easy there, Noct, your stomach just stopped hanging out of your body a minute ago."

"I feel fine," he lied.

The pain was strong, pulsating through every inch of him, but there was a tug on his heart and a hope so foolish he wanted to rush down the stairs and wherever the mysterious tug would pull him.

He needed help on the first three steps, but then there was a ripple of power in the air and his friends felt it. Noctis started running, forgetting he could warpstrike forward if he wanted to. His ring was gone. His eyes were blue. His heart felt like that of a newborn, beating madly in his chest.

She was lying on the ground, the only flower in the gardens, her dress still torn, her skin blue at her fingertips and lips, bruises on her face and her hair wet. Like time had stopped for her back in Altissia. She was shivering, teeth chattering and weakly turned her head at the sound of running footsteps. Noctis skidded on the uneven ground, eyes wide, wild, his throat hoarse with questions and the name he wanted to whisper in fear she'd fade back.

Luna wondered why the burning by her side was receding, why she could feel cold and why her lungs were clenching so painfully. She found herself exposed and too small, too frail for his eyes, but her heart swelled.

He touched her shoulders, her hair and she moaned at the very sensation of human contact.

"You're alive," they said in unison, marveling at the fact.

"How?" he asked.

"Why?" she managed, tears gathering in her eyes.

He wanted to tell her he didn't care but he had almost no strength left in him, it had taken him everything just to run up to the place where her light called him.

"Luna. My Luna."

"I'm here. I'm really here."

She couldn't believe it.

Noctis rested his forehead against hers, trying to gather her in his arms, but she was shivering too much and his hands handed up splayed on one of her hips and the side of her face.

"Stay with me this time. I'll pay any price, just stay with me," he pleaded.

"I'll stay. Hold me. You're so warm, Noct."

They didn't hear Noctis's friends rushing outside, but they did hear their shocked exclamations. Noctis tried to look at them, to tell them how surprised and glad he was, that he didn't meant to hurt their feelings, that he truly thought he'd died, but fatigue took over and the last thing he remembered from that day was Luna's nose digging in his chest, pushing right where his dark shirt had been torn, her cold skin warming up against his. He had his first good shiver in a long while. And that living dream never ended.

…

Luna waited for him in the gardens, sitting on a blanket with Pryna and Umbra, the latter half asleep under the sun. She wore his favorite sundress and no shoes, a preference she had whenever she walked in the garden. Noctis couldn't remember how many times he'd insisted on carrying her back to her chambers in his arms and how many panicked squeals she'd made when he pretended he'd drop her on a bush of flowers or next to a pond. They really were worse than teenagers when together, but at least, the servants pretended they didn't see it and his friends were nice enough to keep the teasing to a minimum.

Their love for each other and happiness were infectious to say the least.

"Are we having a picnic?" Noctis deduced from the basket lying not far from her.

"As simple as it might sound, we are. I prepared all the food myself this time," she explained, her pride showing for just an instant. "It's really hard to find something special to do for you, seeing as you receive way too many extravagant gifts from all over the world."

"You always know just what to do," he comforted her. He tried not to salivate as she pulled out the first plate, "when did you get wild barramundi? I haven't fished in forever!"

"I wanted to book you a fishing trip, but Ignis insisted it could wait. I swear, next year, we should prepare our anniversary together, I feel like your advisor had more say in it than I did."

Her playful tone assured Noctis there was no harm done and he laughed with her, apologizing anyway. They enjoyed their food, Noctis loving the casual feel of this brunch. Eating inside the Citadel was rarely a small thing and it was hard for them to find time to sneak into the kitchen to actually whip up a meal. He would still treat her to breakfast in bed whenever he could, but it was rare and ended too often with egg yolks on the sheets.

By the time he'd finished cleaning up his third plate, Luna felt impatient again, since she rarely had the chance to give anyone gifts in her life and every occasion she had to spoil Noctis made her both overjoyed and frantic with last-minute doubts.

"You're practically floating in the air, Luna, calm down, I'm all yours for the day."

"And I fully intend to make good use of my privilege," she told him, effectively making him blush with the sultry look that came with her declaration. "But first, close your mouth, you'll swallow a fly…"

"Luna, don't make fun of me. That was a surprise attack."

"Serves you right for making me flustered," she shot back, her own blush showing.

"I did that?" he asked, sitting on his heels to lean closer to her, Luna wondering if she'd ever get tired of their silly flirting.

She didn't want to, ever.

"You always do. And as much as I love it, I'd rather you sit still for just a little while," she warned him. "We've had two years together already as husband and wife and I don't think you realize how blessed I feel. It went by so fast and I cherish every one of the new memories we've been making along the way. And instead of a notebook, I found a way to keep a trace of these memories, for the days where you can't believe this is really our life."

Noctis stayed silent, his eyes trained on her, holding his breath as her words sank in. It was true most days, neither of them could believe they were living this chance. To be together, simply together and… He felt a weight on his hands and looked down to a package wrapped in white gift paper.

"You know I don't need anything…" he started, tearing the paper off to discover what looked like… an album?

The cover was graced with their first initials laced together, perfect reverse of each other, _N. L._ and _L. N._

"It's a bit cheesy, but…"

Noctis started shaking his head out of pure habit, flipping his gift open and pausing as he discovered a letter for him on the first page.

 _Like a moon without a night sky, I know I wouldn't have anywhere to go if it wasn't for you. You complete me, you hold me up, you love me, and I can never love you enough. Dear Noct, I know I should have started with this, but I went with the flow, I hope you don't mind, gods, you never mind, you wonderful man… Dear Noct, I have kept all the most important memories in my heart and I know we'll make many more. Consider this our new notebook. We can say out loud the words we used to write, but a picture is worth a thousand words. Hard to say how many pictures it might take to convey every last word in my heart when I think of you._

He looked up at her, realizing he'd stopped breathing as he'd read, swallowing hard.

"That's…"

"Look at the pictures, Noct," she asked him with a smile.

He turned the pages, surprised to realize there was a small message next to every photograph. The first one was of them lying on the same hospital bed, with Umbra and Pryna scrambling the wires at the foot of the bed.

 _When we started anew._

And then a picture from their first date, and a few shots he remembered taking with his own phone.

 _You make me feel so alive when we laugh together._

The one she'd chose for their wedding showed them exchanging their vows. Noctis remembered how nervous he'd been and how terribly hard it had been to hide it.

 _To think you even worried about me saying yes._

His breath caught in his throat and he turned the pages, feeling Luna's hand on his wrist as she read a few of the lines she'd written out loud.

" _When we dance, I don't touch the ground. You make my heart fly._ "

"Now that's beyond cheesy," he tried to tease her, surprised his voice came out so emotional.

"Well, that's how you make me feel," she said, feeling embarrassed at how simple it sounded.

Noctis found a picture where they were kissing each other, a picture she'd snapped with her own phone, smiling against his lips and looking so content, he wanted to reenact it now.

"I've left a lot of free space for the years to come," Luna told him.

"I doubt one album will be enough," he said. "This is really nice, Luna. More than nice."

"You're tearing up," she observed, her voice shivering a bit.

They hadn't believed they would be allowed anything like this.

"I still can't believe it most days," he admitted, shaking his head as he realized how confusing he sounded. "I know you're here, I know it, I can look at all the proofs it's been real and it's still… so hard to believe… I love you so much Luna."

"I love you too."

Noctis couldn't tell why he was so moved, if it was the fact she'd made this gift so personal or the fact she was talking about nothing but _their_ future. No mention to duty, no fear for her health, just joy at the future they could look up forward. He carefully placed the album on the blanket and turned to her, her hands cupping his face instantly and next thing he knew, he was kissing her forehead, her brows, the corner of her eye, the tip of her nose, the roundness of her cheek.

His beard tickled her, and she laughed, before managing a muffled yelp as he laid her down as gently as he could in his sudden rush for her arms.

"Noct, we're out in…"

"I want to kiss my wife."

She didn't object further, her fingers weaving through his hair, her first moan music to his ears and when they parted for air, her smile was almost too bright.

"You know you sounds really possessive sometimes."

"Sorry."

"I didn't say you had to apologize. It's not like you're locking me inside the Citadel or something."

"Glad it never had to come to that."

Their afternoon went by too quickly, as time always was when everything felt perfect. But instead of worrying about the next minute or wondering where time had gone, they enjoyed every moment, laughing when it started raining and they had to rush inside with a hastily packed together picnic or when they struggled out of their wet clothes to share a warm shower.

By the end of the day, Luna had to bully Noctis into getting dressed to get actual food for dinner and not pretend they could call in room service.

"Made you hungry, huh?" he asked cockily.

"Don't hog all the efforts to you, oh chosen King."

"Hungry _and_ snappy, okay."

"It was a joke! Although you could do with less of an ego."

"I'd kneel for you any day, Luna. At least, if you're on the menu."

This time, her slap was stronger, but not as strong as the way she flushed up to her ears.

…

On the following morning, Noctis groggily kicked himself out of bed at 2 to get preparations under way and tried to gently shake Luna awake around 3.

"Noct?"

"You can sleep on the airship, love, but it's time for my gift and we need to get going if we want to have four full days out there."

She'd packed her things already, even though she had no idea where they were going outside of a slight suspicion.

"How are you awake?" she asked.

"I love you very very much, you know, otherwise, I'd be sleeping."

She smiled, still quite asleep and Noctis offered to dress her, a proposition she was happy to take. She tried to help him, but she was too tired to even sit up on her own and Noctis felt bad to take away hours of sleep from her just because he wanted more time with her in Tenebrae. He didn't complain and decided to dress her simply, with a skirt and a nice alter top, wrapping her in a shawl. He'd added a few jackets and coats to her travel bags and the servants had already packed the ship with their things. He carried his wife in his arms all the way to the docks, grunting a bit when he could finally put her down in her seat. She was still lighter than he'd wished her to be, but holding her for over half an hour without pause was nearing his limits.

"We didn't say goodbye to anyone," she observed as he buckled her seatbelt, her eyes as heavy as before.

"Aranea is the one piloting this ship and Ignis is in the next row with their daughter," Noctis told her.

The rest of their friends were out on missions, so Luna admitted leaving in the middle of the night like this wasn't so bad.

"Are we evading the press or something? Why all the secrecy?"

"Well, I'm taking you out on our honeymoon," he whispered. "I don't want paparazzies all over us."

Luna nodded absent-mindedly, gasping when her brain finally processed what he'd just said.

"Our honeymoon?!"

"I had you wait long enough to have one and we were able to get a couple of days off, so I thought… I've been quite presumptuous lately, haven't I?"

He scratched the back of his head, realizing that taking this decision on his own wasn't very fair to her.

"Well, if I'm disappointed, we can call this a vacation and try again another time, don't you think?"

Noctis blinked at her, taken aback by how quickly she talked about being disappointed and Luna instantly laughed at the worried look in his eyes.

"I don't expect disappointment, Noct. But next year, we're planning our anniversary together, alright?"

He kissed her hand, agreeing wholeheartedly. That would give him no reason to nearly forget it again.

She had a dozen questions for him, but sleep took over throughout the flight and it was eight in the morning when Aurora woke them up, excitedly jumping around the aisle of the ship with a comatose Ignis trailing behind her.

"We're here, we're here!"

Luna being quite the morning person, she jumped off her seat and joined Aurora in her excitement, while Noctis groaned, the back of his neck numb and his head aching dangerously.

"Next time, we'll leave earlier," Ignis told him. "I'm not sure how I'll make it through the day looking after that little firework."

Aranea was obviously going to spend her morning sleeping after driving all night, the former commodore refusing to let the autopilot on and risk a problem in case of a flying daemon. Or an actual bird.

"At least you can throw her over your shoulder if she goes too crazy. I can't exactly do that with Luna. I mean… I can, but not for very long."

Ignis coughed to hide his very brief chuckle and chided his friend for good measure, "moron."

"What was that about?" Luna asked.

"Nothing," both men said at once.

Aurora clapped her hands.

"Mama would say they're plotting something. Are you, daddy?"

"All my _planning_ was about getting us here, sweetie."

"Can I see the floating islands?"

"Floating…"

Luna perked up as she understood where Noctis had taken her and she looked even more excited than before at the idea of seeing her home. She threw herself at him, hugging him as she smiled even more than before.

"Why didn't you tell me, Noct?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise," he smiled back, his heart swelling as he felt her tug impatiently on his arm so he'd hurry after Ignis's family toward the exit.

Luna loved any place in the world where he was, she'd told him so many times, but her home country was a special case and he could understand. Even when Tenebrae had been nothing but burned villages, the wild and fantastic landscape held a magic all of its own. Now the villages were back up, the city at the foot of the manor was blooming and Luna let out a gasp at the sight of the Fenestala manor itself.

"Noctis. What did you do?"

"I… I mostly gathered money and let Ignis work his magic," he confessed, squeezing her waist as he felt her hug tightening a bit.

Her home had been restored to its former glory and Luna was happy to see Tenebrae free of imperial occupation. She knew the most likely scenario for the people in Gralea was to welcome them in her province, give them shelter where less people lived and the cities were already mostly repaired. A very selfish part of her didn't want anyone from the empire setting foot in Tenebrae after what their soldiers had done, but she knew better. Aranea was here and she had nothing against her, she knew how much help she'd given to Tenebraen people when the nights had stretched over the days.

"You seem lost in thoughts, Luna. I'd rather we plan our stay together now that we're here. I know this is last minute and not how we should do things…"

"I like it," she cut him off. "Planning sounds good. Can we talk somewhere private for it?"

Noctis smiled at her, gathering some details weren't suited for young ears and he waved at the Scientia-Highwind family as he walked down to the sylleblossoms garden with Luna, taking out his phone to show her the various activities he'd spotted in the last few days whenever he could take a break. They sat on a bench, Luna shifting close to him to whisper against his ear, "First we need to make a list of the places where we're going to have sex."

As amorous and bold as his queen had gotten over the months, Noctis was shocked to hear her say something like that while they sat outside, not even hidden behind walls and so early in the morning. He couldn't help a stammer in his voice as she pinched his thigh playfully.

"What?!"

"Flustered first thing in the morning. I win!"

"When did we agreed on a competition about this?"

"I made a bet with Aranea the other day," she said as though it was explanation enough.

Noctis decided his revenge should be exacted through a kiss and didn't let go off her until they were both panting heavily, their clothes messy and their hair even worse.

"Noct…" she breathed out, her hand gripping to his shirt.

"I don't think we need a list, Luna. Not for sex," he added with a chuckle, brushing her lower lip with his thumb.

She blushed a little more and ran one hand through her hair, crossing her arms over her chest as she tried to regain her countenance.

"That was.. a silly suggestion wasn't it?"

"Well, not that much. But I can't really take you all the way out here to keep you in bed behind closed doors for four days straight."

"I'm a frail flower, I need sun to survive," she playfully said, Noctis stroking her hair and fighting against the urge to kiss her again.

"Sun you shall have then. Can you stop being so adorable and help me plan before I lose any decency and kiss you again?"

Luna batted her eyes at him and Noctis snorted.

"I'd like to go skating if we still have the installation for it. Fishing is mandatory. And you'll prepare my breakfasts."

"Okay."

"I'm kidding about the breakfast thing. But I'd like to snuggle with you a lot. And maybe we could have a midnight bath in the garden's pond."

Noctis frowned at that.

"I'm going to freeze myself to death in there."

"I'll keep you warm. Wuss."

"My word! Language, young lady. You should respect your elders!"

"I have more devotion for you than any astral, so I think I respect you plenty," she teased him some more.

He retorted by tickling her sides and they only calmed down after she begged him for mercy, her ribs particularly sensitive to tickling.

"What do I get to enjoy outside of fishing?"

"My company? And seafood! We need to do a seafood marathon."

"That sounds amazing," he sighed, licking his lips at the very thought of it. "But that first part wasn't quite elaborate. In which forms will I benefit from your company?"

She raised one brow at him, as though to ask "are you serious?" before to get to her feet.

"Well, that entirely depends on how charming you prove to be."

He followed suit, offering her his arm, which she accepted after a very brief and very faked hesitation.

"Where shall we begin?"

"How about shopping?"

His chest deflated at that and he gave her a cautious look, knowing he was stepping on dangerous grounds, "but you didn't say shopping."

"You need something to cover your ears."

It seemed she wouldn't leave him a choice.

…

Their first day went by without a hitch, Luna growing quiet when they took the time to visit the manor, which was treated more like a museum than a former home. Noctis wasn't sure what she wanted to be done with it and after some thinking, his wife admitted she couldn't decide. She thought it should be a refuge, or a foster home for the war orphans that still abounded.

"You don't have to make a decision right now."

"I know, but I'm certain my mother would have loved that."

She didn't mention her brother. She could never talk about him and Noctis didn't blame her. It felt quite unfair that _they_ were gifted a second chance, unlike those who had supported them. She did shed a few tears as they passed in one particular hallway that used to house his favorite rooms. She doubted it was a coincidence that the room itself was turned into a collection of display cases showing the various fleurets and swords owned by their family over the centuries.

"I am to be the last Oracle this world will see, Noct. So this manor shouldn't go to waste as some relic of the past. It could be a school, a hospital, or… well, a school sound better, but…"

"Give yourself time, Luna," he suggested, squeezing her arm in support.

It was hard to say which saddened her most, the loss of her family, the nostalgia of walking in this home that wasn't a home anymore or the fact she truly was the last Oracle. She didn't wish that burden on anyone. But in a world where magic was slowly dying down, her heart wished for a glimpse of light remaining, just in case people got lost.

She pinched her cheeks upon walking out, shaking her head as she tried to put on a smile. Noctis held her close, even though people were waving at them, knowledge of the king and queen's visit having already run all over town. The pair waved back, glad for the polite distance and how the people scattered without needing to be asked after just a little while. Noctis didn't like the constant attention and scrutiny they were under. He seriously missed the time when he could walk into a store, barely be recognized as the prince and just grab a coffee to play mindlessly on his phone afterwards. He still visited a few stores all on his own, using his phasing to sneak away from his bodyguards and out in the city, but that was rare, and he wished he could take Luna out more often without having to sneak around.

"How about fishing?" she offered.

"Isn't that too contemplative when you already feel down?"

"I think we both need some quiet," she told him.

He knew a few fishing spots in Tenebrae by now and always carried his fishing arsenal with him thanks to his royal powers, so Noctis agreed after one more encouraging smile and the gentle squeeze of her hand on his bicep.

They settled down, Luna's thigh pressed against his, her bare feet dangling above the water and her head leaning on his shoulder after only a few minutes. Noctis felt most of his accumulated tension from sleeping in the chair during their night flight vanishing as he let his mind drift through the cold air, focusing on the line and his patience. Fishing was just as relaxing as it had always been for him and it had been a while since his last fishing afternoon. The afternoon stretched into the evening, Luna enjoying small talk with him and insisting she didn't feel the cold, while Noctis was ready to swear his bones were aching with arthritic pain by the time the moon showed in the sky.

His back and bad leg were quite sensitive, and he wondered what sort of performance he would manage in such a state, unless he could have a really warm bath before heading to bed.

"I always forget to keep you moving," Luna apologized as his joints cracked and popped in protest when he finally got to his feet.

"I'm just 33, not that much of a fossil," he reminded her, even though his braced-bound leg felt numb and he needed to lean into Luna to stay up until sensation came back. "Damn this aching thing."

Luna tried to summon her light for him, but it barely reduced the aching and Noctis sighed, lifting her hands to his lips so she would stop exerting herself over his case.

"I'll be fine, Luna. Just slow and not quite steady. How do you feel about being on top tonight?"

She blushed, smiling at him.

"Don't you think getting a full night of sleep would do you more good?"

"No. Way," he declared, punctuating both words with a peck on her face, before kissing her ear, making her laugh in his tightening embrace as his beard tickled her.

When his lips shifted to the spot which always made her weak in the knees, she covered her mouth in the hopes it would muffle her approving moan.

"You want to be spoiled tonight, don't you? If you still have energy to hold my eyes by then, I might take you up on that offer. But don't think your leg will be any stronger in the morning when I'm through with you."

He chuckled at that, whispering her name against her skin, still in awe of the butterflies she created inside just with her playful smile and those sparkles in her eyes. He hadn't expected Luna to be so content with him, he had never expected himself to grow this bold and confident around her. But she was perfect for him and he liked to think he was just right for her.

"First things first, I need to feed my enchanting wife. Which fish would you like?"

"I've heard more romantic questions."

"From who?" Noctis asked her, looking scandalized.

A roll of her eyes and she took the first step forward, Noctis needing to warp after her and nearly sending her to the ground when he leaned on her shoulder once more, making her scream in surprise which made them both wince.

"Whoa, warn me a little!" she whispered, one hand resting on top of her heart.

"Sorry, Luna. You make this cripple feel like a little kid."

Her heart warmed at the notion and he knew he was half forgiven from the brief hug she graced him with.

"There's not a lot of restaurants around here where we can bring our own fish, but I think we might have something arranged."

Their night went by quietly for once, Noctis finding himself more exhausted than he'd wanted by the time they got to their hotel room. Luna was happy to be the one helping him stay up for once, but her own strength was wavering.

They settled for a very warm and lazy bath, even if it was a struggle to get them both inside the tub without drowning the room… They very much enjoyed the candlelight and the chance to snuggle with only bubbles getting in their way. When the water threatened to get too cold, Noctis tried heating it up using some of his fire magic, which backfired as the nearest candles melted right into the bath, Luna jumping out of his arms in her rush to get away from the water mixed with melted wax. Noctis followed her suit, the pair laughing together once they got a hold of each other, both shivering as they were dripping wet.

"We should have started the radiator," Luna sighed through her teeth clicking together despite her best effort.

"I guess we'll just have to warm you up the old-fashioned way now," Noctis retorted, lifting her in his arms and holding her tight.

Towels were seldomly involved and Luna wanted to chide him for dampening the whole bed, but she loved the feel of his hands on her far too much to complain.

"How's your leg?"

"Still achy, but it's better. Let's…" he was cut off by Luna's hands on him, his eyes losing focus for an instant. "Give me a little warning?" he almost begged.

"After the way you assaulted me in the bathroom?!"

"You have been teasing me all day. With the list, and the looks and that kiss in your bedroom…"

She smirked at him, her hands moving to his back and running along his spine, Noctis effectively holding her closer, careful of not laying his entire weight on her while their chests brushed, the skin to skin contact causing shivers for the both of them.

"You know, that was one of my teenage fantasies," she confessed. "My foreign prince showing up in my room, dashing and still somehow shy."

"Just a kiss," Noctis couldn't help asking her, "really?"

"I was a very pure girl before marrying you," Luna defended herself.

"You're still the purest woman I know."

"Noct, you're very sweet and while my heart can handle it… my feet are freezing."

"And I thought you handled the cold better than I do!"

He could barely hide his worry underneath the teasing, but Luna insisted she only wanted more blankets and caresses. They made love in their own little nest, hair still damp, their moans quiet and her breathing almost too soft in between the short gasps that came. There was no control, no dominance, no fight, the gestures all familiar, the warmth of their intimacy wrapped around them like a protective bubble.

When any movement became obsolete, Noctis lying next to her, a contented sigh escaping his lips, Luna found herself smiling, a giddy feeling in her heart. Her quick exhale had him looking at her with concern.

"What is it?"

"I feel a little more complete every time," she told him, blushing a little bit.

"Me too," Noctis confessed. "Two years, Luna, and you've made me happier than I ever was. I don't know how to thank you for this."

"Then don't. Just stay happy."

"I think staying here is enough for that."

"Here?" she repeated.

"In your arms. In your heart." He kissed her forehead, breathing in the scent of her hair.

"It's the same for me. I love you. Very, very much."

"And I adore you, Luna. Bigger than the crystal."

She laughed, remembering how he'd said so as a child, on his very first visit to Tenebrae.

"Bigger than the moon," she said, as had been her answer back then.

"Careful now, you'll make my heart burst."

They laughed together, fingers intertwined, consciousness drifting, but their smiles staying put. She didn't know how to tell him how much it meant to have this time with him. She didn't have to. Words weren't needed. They'd wrote enough of them during 12 years apart to bridge over the distance, they'd prayed enough for the gods to grant them a second chance at life, in a life they could actually share. What more could be said, when they could live every day knowing it wouldn't be the last and still cherish it more than the one before? Noctis held on to her in his sleep and Luna held him back. As they were always meant to be.

The End

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This story was amazing to write. All the cheese! And the feels. And to have a chance at just writing them exceedingly happy even though I had to throw some light angst into the mix here and there lol. I hope you enjoyed! 😊


	2. Back in white

This story is a multi-chapters fic now! It will continue because this AU is too nice and because when I start writing it, it just flows like crazy. Lots of flashback to set the start of this AU, with a good load of angst, because it's me writing, so angst is mandatory. We start off in the present, some not so borderline smut, and after the first switch of scene, we go back to flash-backs and just… stay there. Enjoy!

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Us

Chapter 2 – Back in white

Luna was woken up with a start, her heart hammering in her ears, feeling something phasing right through her. It was a cold sensation, like turning into a ghost, like that violent feeling of falling in your sleep to wake up in your bed. Luna had the distinct impression she'd hit the mattress at a high speed and struggled to understand what was going on.

"Noct?"

But he wasn't there, as though she'd fallen in a stranger's bed, in a lone room void of his warmth. She raised one hand to her chest, looking for that beat that told her she was alive and not on the other side. She really was up, wasn't she?

She saw a blur of blue flashing across the room and felt her heart twisting as realization hit. She was alive indeed. But things were wrong. Her husband was having a nightmare. A bad one. His powers didn't activate every time, but she'd had to run after him throughout the citadel once, as he kept phasing through walls. His eyes were closed, red shining from underneath his eyelids and his limbs shook. His bad leg bent, his warping taking over to compensate.

"Noctis!" she called out, jumping out of bed and stumbling, her feet still numb with sleep.

She tripped, pushing herself forward, reaching out to him, knowing the longer he was away from her, the worse it would get. She could feel his anxiety in the air. While her light couldn't fix his wounds, she was hypersensitive to him thanks to her benevolent power. His emotions were wild, almost suffocating her magic, his breathing ragged, but his hiccupping warps halted at the touch of her palm on his back.

"Luna? Luna, where… are you?"

His voice was haggard as he gasped over the words.

"Turn around, silly," she gently asked, fighting against herself to keep her voice from shivering. She had to bite on her lower lip as she saw the haunted look on his face. She knew that look far too well for meeting it so often when she faced a mirror, back in Tenebrae under the imperial rule.

"I didn't mean to…" He blinked again, still half-gone, his voice messy. "…to phase, I'm sorry, I was trying… to get to you faster, _he_ was… I was…"

Her heart clenched fully and she turned whiter than the moon. It was the nightmare about Altissia again. She swallowed, praying for her voice to stay steady.

"Noct, it's okay. We're home. We're in Lucis."

He shook his head at her, his breathing growing even more uneven, sweat rolling down his temples. When his legs gave out, she could only slow their mutual fall, wincing with him as they ended up kneeling in front of each other on the marble floor. Why hadn't he listened to her about getting wood for their room? Noctis gripped her shoulders almost too hard.

"You were falling, Luna."

She remembered too well and tried to stay there next to him, not to fall back into the memory.

"I couldn't swim fast enough."

 _My dear Noctis. What have I done to you?_

"Something held me back. Pryna wouldn't get up and…"

His nightmares had gotten mixed together, that premonition from Lestallum, the horror in Altissia… She saw the tears in his eyes, wondered which one of them was shaking as her own memories threatened to trap her in the past. The original end to her story. The blood in her veins was pumping furiously, reminding her of the now. That end was fake, if she kept thinking about it…

 _Worry about him first, foolish girl, he needs you!_

"I'm so sorry, Noct. It was a bad dream, it was…"

"It was real!" he objected. "There was blood, your dress was pink with it, your hair…"

He chocked on the words, trembling like a leaf and she guided his head to her chest, stroking his back, her hands shivering despite her desperate tries. He'd gone too far back, he needed to walk the whole way up to her and then maybe they could both hit the surface again.

Away from the dark flowers, away from the cold, cold space where the gods hummed to her.

"Don't stop talking if it helps, Noct."

He hid himself between her arms, fighting off sobs and tears, trying to ease his desperate grip on her.

"I tried dying to see you, but it didn't work. I was bleeding, I swear it had to be enough blood to get away from here, my dad…"

His voice broke, and the torrent of words hurt even if they weren't new for Luna. He'd been so ashamed the first time he'd woken her up like this, even though she did wake him up in the middle of the night with nightmares of her own.

"Oh, my love, I'm alive, I'm very much alive now."

She wasn't sure whether he heard her or not.

"I can still feel the blade inside, Luna," he rasped. "It burns everywhere, it… My bones… they want to split apart, I'm… paralyzed and I'm not, but I can't breathe, I can't…"

His shaking had changed, and she could hear him wheezing, grasping for air even though he should have been fine, he had to be fine, the dying was over and they were supposed to have years now. But she knew what he was talking about. She'd been there. She hadn't breathed for years.

"I know, Noctis, I know. It's very cold, isn't it?"

He held her even tighter, still taking in gulps of air so long they felt violent, hiding his face further down her chest, his hair damp and cold on her skin.

"I can't breathe. I can't breathe and… it's like I'm crying fire," he managed to say despite the shuddering in his voice.

"Breathe for me, my prince."

She rarely reverted to that title, only when she was too overwhelmed to remember he was King and much older than her now, but he felt like a child between her arms and it was all she could do to refrain from fully breaking down with him. Her hands dug in his hair, massaging his scalp, cupping his face as he tried looking up, struggling with the pain, the awful fear that his memories of her death could be the only thing real and that all this time living with her was just another fantasy he'd made up.

When she'd asked him about his 10 years in the crystal, Noctis had admitted he was dreaming. But Luna needed to know more and then he confessed that while he drew power from the crystal, he'd dreamt her. Not the girl from the past, but the one he wanted, needed. Over and over, with dates and messages exchanged through notebooks and the fabric of her dress under his hands when he finally took her to that ball they'd pretended to have as kids. And how he would wake up now and again, to the knowledge it was nothing but a fool's dream. That the woman he loved had stopped existing and may not have been real to begin with.

"Luna…"

"I'm not a dream, the nightmare was the dream, you're here with me, we're real."

Real, real, real. It took her repeating that word to him a dozen times before he started believing her. If she was real, wasn't it a shame to remain in a panic?

He started calming down, finding that godsforsaken air he needed, his lungs opening again. He sighed against her chest, slowly managing to stretch his neck and meet her eyes while still holding her as though she could vanish if she was to fall out of his arms.

"Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, a tad too late for him to believe her. There was no physical pain, but she was still shaken from waking up to that cold blur passing through her.

"Did I scare you?"

She started shaking her head no once more, too quickly this time, and Noctis stopped her, cupping her face, drying a lone tear on her cheek with his thumb.

"I did, didn't I? I phased out of bed again. I'm sorry, I…"

"Don't!"

Her outburst made them both jump and Luna hung her head, offering him a tired smile before covering his mouth with her fingers.

"Noctis, I don't want you to apologize for being human. We went through some… very traumatic experiences."

"I don't want to make it worse."

"And you won't," Luna objected. "Does it still hurt?"

Her hand traced the large scar on his chest. Where his father's Glaive had stabbed him. Skewered him to be fair. It still itched every now and then, but Noctis had to admit that the pain he'd felt that day resurfaced whenever he used the royal arms. He hated worrying her, but he also hated lying to her, and right now, the old wound was pulsing with every beat of his heart.

"Yes?" came his unsure answer.

"Oh, my dear Noctis. Come here."

She pulled him into a bear hug, shivering with him. She whispered half a prayer for him, only for her King to plead she didn't use her magic on him.

"I won't." They both knew it wouldn't work. She could barely put him to sleep with her light. "But I can still pray for you."

He managed a chuckle at that.

"I'm sorry for waking you up like this. I only need your arms." A pause as they held on to each other, as best as they could and then his breath caught. "Luna, it looked so real."

"Tell me I feel real."

She kissed his hair, kissed one of his eyebrows and he nodded, apologizing again.

"You need more sleep," she sighed.

"And so do you. But that bed scares me."

His fear was genuine, and Luna decided she wouldn't push him tonight. He felt so raw in her arms already.

"Let's make our own then!"

Blankets were gathered, Noctis stubbornly holding to her hand as they worked together, both cold by now, but comforted by the contact even if it hindered them a little. They made a nest of pillows on the floor of their own room, dragging down a few cushions from the couches and settling beneath as many sheets as possible, Luna pining him under her to make sure he could feel her presence. Her weight that proved she was real.

"Might distract you from the pain," she teased.

"Or distract me altogether. Are you certain you want to go back to sleep, my Queen?"

She yawned in answer, glad for his brief laugh and the smile that lingered on his lips.

"You just had a panic attack, Noct, I'm not going to take advantage of you in this state."

He raised one brow at her.

"But that might ground me. And since when have you refused of taking advantage of me when I'm vulnerable?"

The light slap to his bicep was expected, but the kiss that followed was far more heated and needy than their usual goodnight kisses, and Noctis was glad he'd been lying down for it. He would have dropped to his knees. When she parted from him, it was to dive right back in and he held her to him, whining his disapproval when she pushed herself back up.

"Do I feel real to you?" she asked, licking her lips.

"I think so. But you're hiding things," his hands cupped her ass underneath her nightdress and his hips moved up, giving her just a hint of friction. "I need to feel every part of you."

"You naughty man."

"Still love me?" he bit back.

"Enough to take advantage of you right here and now?" she suggested.

"You should use me to your heart's content. As compensation for waking you up."

"You just want to lay back and watch me work for it," Luna teased him.

His hands had moved up to her waist, bringing the fabric of her gown higher and higher and Luna gave in when he offered her that playful boyish grin of his, shrinking off the straps of her dress and throwing the garment to the side. His eyes took her in, his shivers coming back as she made quick work of his boxers, not bothering to pull them all the way down.

"You seem a lot more eager than me, dear wife."

"Maybe I need to be reminded that you're real too."

And how real her own life was.

She kissed his neck, following his adam apple and drawing a path of shivers down his chest, stopping on one nipple while Noctis reached up her thigh and to the folds of flesh hiding her clit. He grazed it, teasing her and Luna groaned, her free hand finding his cock to toy with him like he did with her. And she was rough, maybe rougher than she'd ever been.

"Oww…Gods, Luna."

They shared a brief look, her question answered by his approving grunt.

"You can be rougher too," she panted.

He raised himself on one elbow, Luna shifting to meet his lips with her mouth, her hand never leaving him, only slowing down when she realized how close he was. He wasn't so kind with her, his fingers working her up into a wet mess, her hips quivering against his.

"Is that too rough for you?" he asked cheekily when she gripped his wrist in her hand, a shuddering whine escaping her parted lips.

Luna retorted by guiding him to her, slowly moving his cock up and down her entrance. The position was awkward for them both despite how long they'd been together but Noctis's eyes were heavy on her when she looked at him, her lips almost as red as her flushed skin.

"Do you want to _really_ feel me?"

"Please."

His hands were on her hips and while she wanted to resist his desperate tug only to entice him a little more, Luna didn't have the heart or even the patience to wait any longer. She sank onto him, their gasps mixing together into the night. Her movements were erratic and she felt wild, not entirely herself, but this side of her that she hadn't known before Noctis, before realizing she had needs that only he could help her fulfill. Their names echoed all over the makeshift bed, his hands worshipping her, his body moving with her and sinking deeper into their half-assed mattress after climax came. Luna refused to part from him right away, her hands on his chest, her hair threatening to tickle his nose.

"Do you feel me?"

He nodded despite his lust-filled daze, a lazy smile on his lips.

"You're so damn perfect for me Luna."

"And you for me, Noct. I love you."

Her arms were starting to shake under her own weight.

"Come here. Lean on me."

He kissed her nose, her cheek and her shoulder, both of them sighing in contentment.

"Feeling better?" Luna couldn't help but ask.

"I would if I knew it didn't take a panic attack for you to ravage me like that," he mocked her, holding her tighter to prevent her from moving away from him and try anything other than pinching in retaliation.

"You're lucky I'm exhausted you know!"

"I'm lucky to have you, you mean. I won't ever forget it."

"Like I'd let you."

…

Her eyelids were almost glued together, fatigue and dried tears making sure she would stay blind to the outside world. But through the fog, she could hear voices talking and it never happened. She'd dreamed of Noctis, for the first time in such a long time, a dream where he saw her and touched her instead of following the path towards his own doom and the world's salvation.

"Did she just move?"

A whisper came up from the back of her throat and as she tried to remain quiet and unmoving, she realized her entire body was aching. Her skin itched, her toes barely answered and her flesh was numb, pinpricks of warmth waking her as she shivered despite her effort.

"Lady Oracle?"

The smell in the air was enough to know she was in a hospital and Luna couldn't help the fear seizing her heart. She was dead and gone, dreams and brief flashes to what was going on with Eos were all she should feel, not… If she was to come back, at least, it should be close to Noct, not in some sterile room with scientists watching over her like they had back in Gralea and Tenebrae.

 _I can't be alive, he can't be…_

A shudder escaped her parted lips, her throat too dry to form a word and her eyes struggled open. A wet compress pressed against her cheek and forehead, warm on her cold skin and Luna could have sworn she saw a puff of frozen air coming from her nose.

"Whe…"

"It's okay, lady Lunafreya. Your vitals are settling and you've almost regained a normal temperature."

"She needs water, she must be parched."

Water was provided, Luna trembling like a leaf as she noticed the tubes surrounding her. IVs going down her arm, solutions poured inside her to pump her body back to life. What were they doing? How could she feel solid? Her dry lips burned as drops of water rolled off the corner of her mouth, her hands pushing against the kind offering, her chest heaving. She saw shapes moving around her, but her eyes were too dry, too cold, everything was a blur.

"Where am I?" she demanded, her voice so hoarse, it was hard to believe it wasn't an old woman speaking but her.

She blinked furiously, her breathing rushing in her ears, making her dizzy.

"Beneath Insomnia, in our base," her nurse answered calmly. "We couldn't move either of you any further. It's a miracle the guys could even get you here in one piece."

"We've had quite a lot of miracles today," the male nurse supplied.

Her ears worked well enough for her to make the distinction now, but neither voices were familiar and Luna had to push against the panic growing inside.

"Noctis?"

"He's across the corridor and doing well. I'm going to give you a sedative, your body needs more rest…"

 _More sleep. I don't want to sleep. I won't until I'm certain…_

"I must see him. Please."

Both of her caregivers looked torn.

"You shouldn't move around. We barely understand how you're…"

Another blink and she could see them now, as if her eyes had finally grown accustomed to the light of the room and the distances they had to cover. She was seeing without magic and while her vision still blurred in places, her stomach seemed to settle. Her mouth tasted like bile and moss and she wanted to scrape at her tongue to make sure there was no dirt inside. Her shoulders shook at the thought she could have been buried alive, even if it was preposterous. Her corpse would have drowned before touching any ground…

 _Stop, you'll make yourself sick. You're…!_

"…alive?" she stated, sounding too calm compared to the chaos running inside her heart. "Here I am. If I dissolve into thin air, I'd rather it was with him by my side."

Their faces crumbled, and Luna wondered how much of her pain showed in her eyes. She pushed herself up on her elbows, the effort making her limbs shake and her muscles burned. Dizziness hit her like a truck, but she fought it off. She walked through so much worse before.

 _Flesh failing. The darkness eating away at my light. Is it behind me now? The prophecy is fulfilled._

"We'll take you to him, no need to…"

"Help me to my feet," she asked, barely realizing how many times she'd interrupted the poor nurse.

It was a struggle to get her legs to follow her will, her body shivering so badly under the hospital gown. She'd been dried and changed and covered with warm blankets, but it wasn't enough to erase ten years in cold space. She wasn't sure anything could, but her dream was still clear and if she could only see him, she'd know it hadn't been a dream.

She was a weak, weak thing; angry at her feet for refusing to lay flat on the floor right away, angry at her legs for trembling under her weight and angry at her whole body for shivering so much. Her will kept her up with the support of her nurse, the pair insisting on getting her a wheelchair, which looked like it had seen better years.

"Now, the King is half-gone on pain-killers. We fixed internal bleeding and did our best under the circumstances, but he might not be conscious or remain conscious very long," they told her as they rolled her across the room and through the small corridor.

Her IV was carefully carried along the way and Luna tried to accept she would have to keep it. She'd been in hospitals and tested upon so often, it was hard not to yank the tube out of her arm in her urge to feel in full control of her body again.

A young man jumped on his feet as they opened the door to the room, his nervous arms crossing behind his back in an improvised military salute. His blond hair was dirty with grime and blood, which told Luna she hadn't slept for long. He was wearing a crownsguard uniform and relaxed as he realized who was visiting the King. Noctis laid on a large bed, his chest covered with bandages where he wasn't covered with a few sheets, a few machines beeping around him. A few were missing, but the installations had been made in a rush, the very bed having a wooden headboard and two broken feet, which showed just how precarious Eos was after the eternal night. Luna's eyes blinked too quickly as she searched for as many hints to where she was and whether the sun was back. The room was nothing but walls lined with shelves of supplies, some of them having been moved hastily to assuage there wouldn't be too much coming and going inside the room.

"Lady Lunafreya," the blond man greeted her, exchanging questioning looks with her nurses.

He surely wondered if she should be out of bed.

"Are you… Prompto?" she asked back, her voice still frail and her throat too dry despite the few gulps of water she'd taken. She remembered a fidgeting blond friend from Noctis's letters, so she hoped her intuition was right. She had to look pretty ghastly, she'd rather not sound mad. There was a wet spot on her gown and she couldn't worry about her appearance, because Noctis was right there and she wasn't sure her feet would carry her over the few feet keeping them apart. His eyelids were closed and his breathing seemed peaceful but she needed to get closer and make certain he was well.

The crownsguard nodded eagerly, a shy smile showing. His eyes were shot, his entire frame too tensed and he offered her a quick, far too-stiff bow. If only she could use her light on him to ease some of his nerves… She felt too weak to even try, offering him a smile instead.

"It's good to finally meet you in person. How's… How is he?"

"In and out. I don't know which god to praise, he was… When he took off running, we… Well, we took turns with Iggy and Gladio to look after him as soon as the surgery was over. Didn't expect to see you up and about so soon," he tried to smile and scratched at his wrist absent-mindedly, the skin so red she was afraid it might break. He went on before she could express concern. "Shit, I'm rambling, sorry. I… Why don't you check on him for yourself?"

"I'd love that…" Luna whispered, her hands shaking against the armsrest of her chair as she bent her neck to look at her caretakers.

Understanding she needed some privacy, they offered to stay close by to look after her should she feel unwell, Luna agreeing for Prompto to stay in the room with her and Noctis a little longer. He rolled her wheelchair up to the bed, assuring her the thing was stable despite the broken feet.

Luna shifted to sit on the very edge of her seat, which almost resulted with her falling out of her chair, but Prompto was jumpy enough to catch her.

"Don't go hurting yourself on my watch, Noct would kill me," he joked around.

"I… I need help, Prompto. Can you sit me on his bed. I…" Her cheeks burned as the words came out in a single breath, untamed and from the heart. "I _need_ to hold him."

He blinked, taken aback for a mere instant. He didn't try to convince her of doing otherwise. He remembered the way her apparition had run towards Noctis after summoning the gods by the gates of the Citadel. The desperate longing on his friend's face after she'd vanished… She was back somehow and while he had questions, he knew there would be a better time to ask them later.

He lifted her in his arms with ease. She was so light, he was almost scared of moving her around, her skin was so pale. There was bruising on her neck, bruising peeking from her light gown and he wasn't sure how that had happened. It was impossible to tell how she could be alive in the first place.

"The sun peeked out earlier. It's like you brought it back," he told him, very careful of not disturbing Noctis as he sat her down on a corner of the mattress where his friend was laying.

A gasp escaped her throat and silent tears followed, Luna steading herself with both hands. There was such awe and reverence in his voice. Hope. It was her first glimpse of hope in so long…

"I'm glad. Very glad."

Her eyes fell back to Noctis, her breathing growing too quick as she took note of the blood-stains on the bandages. She knew she should have expected them, he had just been through surgery, but it felt a lot worse to think her magic couldn't fix him right now. There was a beard on his face and his jaw was sharper, his cheekbones hollowed in by time and unkind years. The boy she remembered was gone, almost entirely gone, his dark hair tangled and his chest too large, too strong compared to what she remembered. She shuffled and shifted, finding enough space for her to sit right next to the headboard, gently lifting his head and his thin pillow to have him resting against her thigh instead.

She remembered holding him safe from the furry of the tide-mother, pouring her light into him as her heart was beating madly in her chest.

They'd finally found each other, their heart beating in the same space and the same time, but he had changed, time had passed for him while she was held back and now he was bruised and her light had left her. Prompto felt that staying would be a rude intrusion and quietly took his leave to give them some space, Luna not noticing the door closing behind him. Her eyes were glued to Noctis, her ears trained to him, to the nasal rasp in his breathing, to every little shift on his face. His hair was soft against her arms, that hadn't changed.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here," she whispered, her throat tightening. "I swear, I only get to see you when you're hurt!"

She bent over him, her forehead resting against his in that awkward embrace, their noses brushing. His eyelids shivered, a rattle raking its way up his throat. Luna rose herself just enough to look at him, despite how weak she felt, meeting his confused eyes right as they blinked.

"Why… It's not supposed to hurt… that much when I dream," he managed.

"I'm real," she told him. "Or maybe I'm the one dreaming."

Noctis tried to smile, but he could barely make sense of her words, his brain half-frozen by the many painkillers in his veins.

"I don't look dreamy," he chuckled, instantly regretting it since his ribs and sore chest protested heavily. "Shit." Her following tear hit his cheek and now the aching was all over his heart. "Luna?"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't leave," he pleaded. "You always apo… apologize when you leave."

"Oh Noct, I hurt so bad, I swear I'm real."

Her hands cupped his face, her fingers grazing his beard with a mix of curiosity and sheer awe. He wanted to reach one hand up to her, to feel her hair under his skin, not the mere brush of strands tickling his forehead or the tip of his nose. The dark lines on her skin scared him, as though somehow the blight could hold her back, as though any sudden movement might make her vanish.

"I may have a drink somewhere. Well, I had one in my jacket and another in my pants, but…" he frowned, his lips moving but no sound coming until he remembered what he wanted to say. "I'll make you an elixir or two, I just need..."

She held him down, gasping as he even suggested using his magic.

"You need to rest, dear Noct."

His eyes widened, and a shiver ran through him, his lower lip too thin as he bit into it. His voice trembled on the following word, but there was a new hope lighting up his gaze and he pressed his head back against her, as though to confirm she was really there. His right hand found hers on the last word.

"I love you."

It was her turn to be shocked.

"What?!"

She was blushing, he saw it through his blinking and as he squeezed her hand, she squeezed back.

"If you were a dream, you'd be gone by now, but you're… still here. And I never got to tell you, Lun…"

"But…"

"I wanted you to know… It's not… a bad thing, is it?" he added, his eyes almost crossing to meet hers.

She kissed his hair at that, struggling against the tears threatening to fall. She barely had the energy to hold herself up and he was…

"I love you too. I've always loved you."

"This is so unfair. I want to hold you, but you won't let me move."

"You just had surgery. And I have no idea why."

His eyes looked away an instant, his expression darkening.

"I think my father… stabbed me? His ghost. The sword was not a remnant so... tough luck?"

"By the gods, Noct…"

He ushered a shaky breath, trying to focus his thoughts. The single word that came out had been running all around her head since she'd first seen him in the dead gardens.

"How…?"

Shaking her head at him would make her dizzy, so she simply sighed.

"The sun is back, Noct. You've fulfilled the prophecy and saved our star."

"I believe _we_ did that," he reminded her, grateful for her smile and the slight nod she gave. It was impossible to keep his incredulity at bay and the darkness seeped back in his words. "I spent the last 10 years getting told I needed to sacrifice everything."

"And you did. We both did and maybe that's why the gods thought… we had a right to be here. We can be together now."

More tears had gathered in her eyes and his throat hurt as she held him to her. He brought her hand to his face, her palm cupping his cheek, his lips finding her skin, his features losing any sharpness as he tried to burn the sensation in his memory. Her skin was fresh, almost cold, but also incredibly soft. There were calluses on his hands, because while gone in a crystal sleep for years, he hadn't remained idle.

"There's so many things…"

Luna felt dizzy just trying to get her thoughts together. Noctis was fighting against his heavy eyelids, blinking more than he wanted.

"I have so much to tell you," she sighed.

"Me too. Can you… come closer? You need to rest."

"I've slept for far too long."

"Maybe you freaking needed it. Why did you have to run ahead of me like you did?"

It wasn't an outright accusation, but the complaint remained and Luna paled, which alarmed him, since she was already whiter than a sheet.

"I…"

"Luna, lie down next to me. I'm hurting and drifting and I don't want to say the wrong things, I just…"

If he held her, she wasn't sure how she'd react, but he needed it and after everything, she was certainly allowed to feel his arms around her.

"I'm not really good at moving right now," she admitted.

"I'm worse," he teased back.

Why did it seem so easy to banter back and forth despite the aching in their bodies and the soreness of their limbs? There was no notebook, no weeks of wait, her reply was there and she could answer and have more of his words right away. Luna was careful as she shuffled about, nearly falling on him but catching herself with one more apology and one smile that reminded her of the man she'd seen in Altissia. Trusting, eager, familiar and foreign all at the same time.

He held the sheets up for her to sneak under it, teased her for blushing when her gown rode up a little as she crawled around the mattress, tugging on her IV pole to make sure it wouldn't pull at her and add one more pain to the list. She'd never nestled herself against someone's side before, not since she was a tiny child and his right arm circling her frame made her feel safe. Safer than she'd been in… maybe ever.

"I'm not hurting you?"

"No. What hurts is the fact I can't roll over and have both of my arms around you."

"You'll heal quickly. I'll read for you when you can't fall asleep."

"Or we can talk about all the letters we didn't write," he suggested, drawling out a few words with a stretched-out yawn.

She yawned too and it was a pretty adorable sound. He held her closer, bending his neck to kiss her hair, catching her temple instead. She might have squealed like a little girl if her head didn't feel so heavy.

"I have a lot of catching up to do. I couldn't follow you like I wanted to. I need to meet your friends. Muster the strength to heal the people that need it."

"No. Your only focus should be finding happiness now. You've worked hard enough and I won't let you wander away from me again."

She knew there was no ill-will behind his words and agreed to leave the question of healing anyone for a later time.

"Do you know what my brother has been up to?"

Noctis thanked the fact he was already drifting by then, because the mere idea of giving her pain with the news of what he'd seen. He wanted her to find peace, not grief.

Luna sensed how his breathing slowed down and tried to follow him, even though she was terrified of closing her eyes. Right now she knew where she was and it was starting to feel warm with him next to her, but…

 _I don't want to sleep. Can I just watch over him until he wakes?_

Sleep took her slowly, as her hand laid against his shoulder, her breath tickling his neck, the princess snuggling closer to her King.

…

Cor ordered for the King and the Oracle to be taken back to Lestallum where they could receive adequate treatment and while people celebrated the new-found days, the royal pair learned that hell could exist even under the light.

Noctis's recovery was exceptionally fast. But Luna's… For the first month, she couldn't eat anything, she was sick on every try and the doctors kept her with a TPN, which meant the constant IV following her. Not that she moved a lot. She was weak and her body would relapse. She had coughing fits violent enough to bruise her ribs and sedatives barely worked on her. Her vitals looked healthy, but then her kidneys failed.

And slowly, as though her body wanted to return to the state of a corpse, every organ failed, as though they were taking turns. She was under constant watch and received the best care, but most of their attention had little to no consequence, Luna recovering by herself after a couple of days before the next physical failure.

"There's nothing natural about it. We've ran every test we could do with the current state of our facilities and she was healthy when admitted, although weakened," her doctor repeated to Noctis. "According to the tests, she's still in good health."

There was a full team on her case and while they were more than happy to repay the Oracle for all the good she'd done, her particular case was starting to tax their staff. There was no biological explanation to every new lapse she was going through. She would pale, look about to faint, she'd get nosebleeds, Noctis was sure she'd bled from her ears, her eyes and coughed up blood in the past four weeks and it was killing him inside.

Weekly blood tests were made, she hadn't needed a transfusion so far, but her skin was just as pale as the first day and the dark lines around her eyes had grown so large, soon her cheeks would be erased by them.

Noctis couldn't sit with her like he wanted, but he slept in her room and rocked her in his arms when he met her conscious, comforting her and swearing she'd be fine.

"I'm hurting you right now. I'm sick of being sick," she'd apologized.

"If being in this state is what it takes for us to be together, if you think it's worth it, then I'll be selfish. I want you to stay."

"I'm staying, Noct. They can't have brought me back to let me die just from the shock of being alive, how preposterous would that be?"

But they'd been tortured before and they were both worried this second chance had been poisoned from the start.

"I want to look alive instead of just being alive."

"Oh, Luna. Have you looked at me?" he tried reassuring her.

He was pale and underfed and running too many things at once with the rebuilding, the reorganizing, the many councils requesting his opinion and the slow reinstating of monarchy after ten years without a ruler. She knew he barely slept, with how worried he was about her and it was hard to speak freely about how much she wanted to be his strength, not a constant fuel for fear.

"Do I even look like the woman you loved, dear King?" His breath caught, but he couldn't answer, her words were like a punch in the gut, so she went on. "I have no magic left in me, my body wants to sabotage me with every breath I take and…"

"Luna, please! I love you now, it never stopped. And it's Noct, and I swear, if they brought you back only for you to suffer like this, I'll…! I'll fight my way to the gods and kick them out of their realm until they make things right again."

His hands never changed when he held her, possessive but kind, rough at the touch but oh so gentle and while it was the first time she'd been this pessimistic about her fate, he had the same determination as the first time he'd told her…

"This time, I'm saving you. Hold on for me, until I can find what will help, until…"

"Noct, listen to me. I don't need anything beside your presence. And I will hold on, but only if this shell can sustain itself. I want to stand by your side, not to be a doll bride you need to hide away from the light because a gust of wind could hurt me."

He stroked her hair, her back, hating how bony she felt. Her spine, her ribs, her hips were pointing out of her skin and while she dressed in large hospital gowns that hid her shapes, he could tell from her sitting in his lap. It wasn't a question of looks, he only wanted her healthy right now.

They sat in silence for a while, as he hummed and rocked her gently, her head in the hollow of his neck as was turning into their habit. Her left hand was gripping to the breast pocket of his shirt as she tried to find peace in his embrace.

Noctis couldn't help the feeling she'd been wilting like a flower deprived from the sun lately, a stroke of inspiration hitting him suddenly.

"Would you like to take a breath of fresh air? The sun's almost up."

"That sounds lovely!"

He didn't need more encouragement to set out on his endeavor, sneaking her out of her room and to the rooftop so they could sit and look at the many roofs of Lestallum and the horizon. He'd wrapped her in a blanket, calling her his bundle of love, to which she blushed, hiding her face against his chest.

"Look, Luna. The Meteor used to be there."

"And Titan. He's with you now," she reminded him.

"I'm not so sure about that," he confided. "Haven't tried calling any of them since… Do you think they would answer? And not destroy stuff for once, just answer to my questions and give me another headache?"

She laughed at that.

"He gave me three days of fever and retching. The soldiers looking after me were giving me weird looks. Please, do not worry about me, Noct. And if you do call any Astral, I pray you'll find an empty field for it. They don't know how fragile we are."

He could only agree with her.

"Tell me how things are going. How's your kingdom?"

He chuckled, nervous at the very thought. _His_ kingdom. That was a lot of pressure for someone who had been away for so long.

"It's going to take a while before Insomnia is viable again. We're reclaiming the land step by step. Meldacio will be made into its own city, and I have a bunch of scientists who want a town at the foot of Ravatogh's rock. I swear, if Ignis hadn't held things down with Cor and Monica, I'd run for the hills with you thrown on my back like some caveman."

"Don't be silly now." After a pause, she heaved a sigh. "I remember so many forests here."

"Yeah, not a lot of trees left. We might have to redo our old maps. I've been all over this place, but, it looks so new."

"Empty?" she suggested, noticing how his shoulders had lowered.

"Not with you here."

"If you tell me things like that, I have to get better."

"I'll do my best to keep you motivated."

"Will you?"

She looked up to him, the dark rims surrounding her eyes looking thinner in the light of the sunrise.

"Wanna know how?" he asked her, just as playful as she sounded.

Her nod was half started when he dove in, years of longing pushing him forward and she blinked at the feel of his lips on her mouth. He'd kissed her hands, her head, even one of shoulders a few times, but…

She felt his fingers in her hair, on her neck, felt the hesitation in every brush of his chaste kiss and when he seemed about to pull away, the shock was gone, replaced with her hands on either side of his face as she held him in place, her lips parting for him. Her mind was reeling, spinning. Why would he even want to touch her in her state?

"I love you, right now." Noctis managed as they parted. "I did before and I will love you still, in whichever realm we end up."

"Oh Noct. I adore you, with all my heart."

"I'm not giving you palpitations, am I?"

She tugged on his shirt, gently but demanding and he obliged his princess. She seemed revived by this, he felt more hope than he'd done when stepping on this rooftop and her smile… Her smile tasted better than the sun.

…

It was only a few days later that Luna could eat by herself again and while it was a slow re-adaptation to food, it was the first step to a full recovery. Weakness would numb her legs every now and then, she had spells of dizziness hitting her despite eating her fill, but Noctis could see her outside of a hospital room and in a matter of weeks, they took residence in a manor of Lestallum. His responsibilities grew heavier and with Luna feeling better, he had fewer excuses to run away from them.

Ignis tried looking after Lunafreya when he wasn't guiding Noctis, but he had little free time left and a family to look after. Upon the realization that the Oracle was pretty much alone outside of a few servants, Aranea decided to move in with the royals, or so to speak. The Scientia-Highwind family was on the first floor while Noctis and Luna shared the second floor. Aurora and Luna kept each other company, playing games, Luna reading her the more complicated books she was curious about, the princess soon called "auntie" by the five-year-old girl. Aranea was a hunter, like Iris and Prompto and they were still quite needed to chase away the remaining daemons, clear up the land and reclaim the fallen houses and outposts all over Eos.

Noctis and Ignis were both quite surprised when they realized their significant others had bonded not only over looking after Aranea's daughter but also their respective time in the empire. Once a week, the two couples and Aurora would gather together for a dinner, and when they managed to make all of their agenda fits, Aurora's self-called uncles would come over. Prompto would get her excited with pictures and drew pictures for her, while Gladio was more than happy to pursue her all over the house, making her scream and laugh until she'd collapse from exhaustion.

Through all the chaos, Noctis tried courting Luna, but found it was quite hard to take her out on a date that wouldn't turn into an open audience for his people. He was the King who had saved them and Lunafreya was the praised and beloved Oracle, the miraculously living martyr. She kissed him good morning and good night before they parted for their respective room, sharing a room seemed inappropriate right now. As thought they'd gotten too close too quickly during her hospital days. His last excuse when Gladio had wondered what was wrong with him was his coming back home at crazy hours and didn't want to wake her.

The royals would sneak around the manor to make out like teenagers whenever Noctis wasn't buried in paperwork, but he worried about taking too many initiatives with her. It was hard to forget the frail, sickly vision of the first few months after her return. Maybe his unease was contagious or it was simply Luna herself not knowing how to convey her feelings, but as her eyes cleared and her body regained the lost weight, an awkward tension settled between them.

The fact he was "home" less than five hours a day almost all the time didn't help. And while she was glad for the reprieve, when Luna found herself with nothing to do but pick a book or stare at a wall, the feeling of being trapped she had lived with her entire life was coming back.

Her magic was still gone, she still went through bi-monthly tests and the last straw was the newspaper. Her survival-called-revival by some had set a trail of kegpowder that was still burning in the different newspapers and magazines still printed.

 _So-called Oracle can't work a miracle_

 _Sick fraud abusing our King_

 _Chosen King using necromancy?_

 _There was no body but she's still nobody_

One paper in particular wouldn't stop, bringing a new theory about her manipulative ways every week. And because she resented her forced idleness, Luna tortured herself by reading them all. And rereading them. She had access to the Internet and her own phone now, so Noctis found it nearly impossible to protect her from them.

It was very early in the morning when she accosted him on his way to the kitchen to warn him something needed to be done about those headlines. He had slept a mere four hours and needed to be in a hunter-meeting in less than one hour, and his patience was already thin to begin with.

"Maybe there's no damage done yet to your credibility, but you have to admit, they have a point. I'm only a pretty-looking burden now. I don't earn my living, you won't let me do volunteer work…

"Until I have secured trustworthy guards for you, Luna, and you're no burden! What did I do that ever made you believe that ? ," he asked her.

She didn't like the underlying accusation that she could be ungrateful to him, but took a deep breath, trying to keep herself together.

"It's not you. But… What if _I'm_ not me? I was gone and then I came back, but I have no light inside…!"

"Luna, you remember everything before Altissia. You still have nightmares from…"

His fists shook by his sides and she wanted to apologize for starting this, but she couldn't stand the situation anymore.

"It's true I'm not the Oracle right now! But I can surely be useful outside of babysitting Aurora and cooking meals that you won't eat."

His anger subsided, his eyebrows dropping. They kept missing each other and it wasn't because he was evading her, he'd told her so time and again, but it was so hard to keep Eos on track and have a semblance of life at the same time.

"I've made you lonely," he realized.

"No, it's not… Maybe a little, but this isn't about us, it's about what I should do. What I _can_ do. I haven't been sick for weeks now. How can I even pretend to become your Queen if I don't…"

"Luna, haven't you done enough just with… You held the eternal night at bay to keep the world safe!"

"But then I died and for 10 years, people suffered!"

He hated when she called it that. It was true, but he hadn't taken her return for granted yet, he had yet to forget the blood on her dress after Ardyn…

"That wasn't your fault! And if you can't understand that, it means you haven't been listening to a single word I've said."

"I do listen. It's all I get to do, listen and read and wave and smile. I told you I wouldn't be a doll bride but that's exactly how…!"

Noctis's eyes widened at that.

"Well, excuse me for being considerate, Lunafreya. We can certainly find you work. And then I'll never be able to see you, not even for a few stolen hours, because duty and devotion are nicer than grumpy, tired me."

She stared at him, her head shaking left and right. At this rate, one of them had to stop adding fuel to the fire.

"What?! I didn't say I don't want to see you or that I'd rather…"

She reached out for him and he took a step back, deflating a little.

"I can't lose you again, okay? I don't know if you can be safe outside, it has nothing to do with having your magic or not, but there's so much unrest…"

"Oh Noct… I'm simply… restless."

"I'm sorry. Things can't stay as they are. They won't. I…"¸

His phone buzzed and they both jumped from the sound.

"Damn, I'm running late for that blasted thing. I'll text Ig. Talk with him about what could be arranged. Don't keep it in and please, please give yourself a rest from the newspaper. You're the only light I need and you shouldn't care for what they say."

Her heart melted at that and she refused to let him walk off without giving him a proper kiss first, their mutual despair shifting to pure heat, a nasal moan escaping her lips as they parted.

"Shit, now I can't leave."

"Noct, please, you're needed. I'll just… require proper compensation for coming second to your Kingdom," she declared, carefully straightening his collar.

"I don't think what I have in mind is quite proper, princess."

He tried to corner her against a wall to make his point, but she waltzed around him, laughing as he followed with that fire in his eyes that made her both nervous and too warm.

"Auntie Luna? I heard yelling."

"Oh, I'm sorry we woke you, Aurora dear."

Noctis took it as his cue, offering an apology to the girl and ruffling her unruly hair as he passed by her, which made her laugh and protest like she always did. Luna started deciding what Aurora and herself would for the rest of the day, the pair sharing a brief look.

While make-up kissing had made them both feel better, their hearts were weighted down by all the mending that was left to do until they reached some balance.

…

Luna started volunteer-work at an orphanage where she was welcomed with open arms and the very work gave her the peace of mind she desperately needed. But her going back out in public opened a door to a dozen demands and while a few newspapers insisted on calling her a fraud and a danger to the King, refugees from Tenebrae and Altissia wanted to see their princess and Oracle. At first, she was terrified because she couldn't heal them, but no one asked for healing. Everyone thanked her for everything she'd sacrificed in their name.

It was gratifying but emotionally taxing and Luna kept feeling restless because she wanted to do more. She was free to go where she wanted, to help nurses treating patients at outposts, to visit a city in construction and cheer up the workers, and it was the first time in her life she could actually enjoy such freedom. Noctis followed her on most of her trips when it wasn't Aranea going with her. And for once, her escort wasn't her guardians.

A few times, she met people afflicted with the blight. There was no cure and while a few scientists had suggested that the parasitic illness would be eradicated by the sun, Luna couldn't help her doubts. There were still daemons here and there. And the people already ill might become daemons too.

After a restless night of tossing and turning in her too-large bed at the manor, she woke up with a start and the impression something was calling to her. She slipped out of bed and followed her feet to the backyard where the trees and grass were starting to show once more. The air was so warm, she didn't even bother with shoes or a gown to cover up her nightdress. Aranea was far less modest than her, and since Luna was more used to cold climates, the heat was really getting to her. She'd tried out one of Aranea's shortest sundresses the other day. Noctis hadn't known where to look and for once, it had boosted her confidence instead of making her nervous.

A bark made her jump and when she saw the white fur, her mind froze.

"Pryna? Oh sweet girl, you're here. Did you find your way back to me?"

Her messenger dog ran up to her, her tail waving in excitement. Luna dropped on her knees, hugging Pryna without even thinking twice about it, laughing as her rough tongue started licking her hands and then her face.

 _I'm really alive. I'm really back, otherwise you wouldn't be here._

"Oh, I missed you, Pryn. Are you alright? Did you see Umbra? Noctis keeps sending him all over the place with messages, I know he missed you dearly. Yes, yes, Noctis is here with me, I…"

She couldn't remember the last time she'd spoken so freely and with such excitement and the slow realization that she'd been holding back saddened her. Why was she still holding back? Things were fine. Things were…

Pryna yapped happily, the sun warm on them both and Luna realized some of the light wasn't coming from the sun rising. Her fingers were alight with magic. It was like thunder running through her veins. Her back shifted, her shoulders pushing outward, a knot untied inside her, a tension taken away as her eyes shone. Her senses were back to what was normal, to feeling the emotions around her, like the excitement pouring out from her canine friend. She couldn't wait to sense Noctis this way, to try and ease his stress with her light, to comfort the orphans when they had scrapped knees and the hunters' wounds.

"Oh my… It's back." Pryna, how did you?"

Her dog blinked, cocking her head to the side.

"Auntie Luna, auntie Luna! I heard a dog, is that…"

"Aurora! What are you doing out of bed already?"

"I try to wake up earlier to catch dad before he goes off to work," the girl explained, kneeling by the Oracle side. "What's the dog's name?"

"Pryna. She's a really gentle girl. Pryna, meet Aurora, one of the best friends I've made since I got here. I… I need to tell Noctis about this. Rora, would you mind staying with Pryna for a bit?"

"I'll play with her all day if mom lets me!"

Luna kissed her hair and hurried back inside after scratching Pryna between the ears one last time. She slowed down once inside, mindful of not waking up either Aranea or Ignis. Tiptoeing over the stairs, she entered Noctis's room, finding him sprawled on his bed, a single sheet barely covering his legs. His hair was a mess, but his face was peaceful and for an instant, she wondered if maybe she shouldn't let him rest. But three steps in and her excitement got the better of her, the princess running on the last four steps and nearly jumping at him.

"Noct! Noctis, wake up, please. Up with you, sleepy prince."

He groaned and then grunted as she rested half her weight on him, shaking his shoulders till his eyes cracked open.

"What? Where's the fire?"

"No fire, silly man. I… Pryna's back. Pryna's back and so is my magic, Noct!"

He blinked at her, multiple times, raising himself on one arm as he tried to wake up fully and process her words.

"Luna…"

"I couldn't wait to tell you, Noct, I'm sorry, this…"

She blushed, realizing how her knee pressed against his hip and how this might look, but he held her wrist as she started pulling away.

"Tell me. I'm still waking up, but I'm always happy to see you."

"My magic is back," she repeated, her smile stronger than her embarrassment.

"That's amazing. How are you feeling?"

She shook her head, laughing and smiling and tearing up only to quickly dry her eyes and shook her head some more.

"I don't speak that language, Luna," Noctis chuckled.

She retorted by cupping his face with both hands, leaning on him more.

"It's like I'm really back. Like I'm… almost complete."

"Luna, you're more than just your magic."

"I know. But with it, I can help so much more. I can help you."

Her left hand drifted from his jaw to his chest, her eyes slowly following as she fanned her fingers over his pec.

"You're not wearing a shirt," she observed.

"It's too hot," he explained, his ears turning red as he realized how long it took for her eyes to even move back up.

His clock read 6 in the morning and his princess was pretty much sitting on him in bed, smiling, her thumb experimentally tracing his nipple, making him bite into his lower lip. His eyes took her in, Noctis fully awake now. She was wearing a very light, very thin nightdress, with straps holding it, the soft fabric ending on her thighs. Her slender arms exposed, her neckline plunging and her dress dangerously gaping, showing skin that threatened to take over all of his attention.

"You walk around dressed like that?"

"You rarely see me right out of bed, do you?" she teased him.

"I think that should change."

"I think so too."

To be continued…

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You read it right. One more flashback in next chapter, because it seems I must write their first time in every fic I make. And I have some more plans for this AU. Extensive chapters too because we need all the fluff when it comes to NoctLuna! Let me know what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

I've been working on this chapter for a long while and it's finally done! We start with fluff, smut, some heavy angst, hurt comfort and a surprise for the future of the fic. I hope you'll enjoy!

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Us

Chapter 3 – Hidden secrets

" _It's like I'm really back. Like I'm… almost complete."_

" _Luna, you're more than just your magic."_

" _I know. But with it, I can help so much more. I can help you."_

 _Her left hand drifted from his jaw to his chest, her eyes slowly following as she fanned her fingers over his pec._

" _You're not wearing a shirt," she observed._

" _It's too hot," he explained, his ears turning red as he realized how long it took for her eyes to even move back up._

 _His clock read 6 in the morning and his princess was pretty much sitting on him in bed, smiling, her thumb experimentally tracing his nipple, making him bite into his lower lip. Noctis took her in, fully awake now. She was wearing a very light, very thin nightdress, with straps holding it, the soft fabric ending on her thighs. Her slender arms were exposed, her neckline plunging and her dress dangerously gaping, showing skin that threatened to take over all of his attention._

" _You walk around dressed like that?"_

" _You rarely see me right out of bed, do you?" she teased him._

" _I think that should change."_

" _I think so too."_

Noctis wrapped his arms around her, lips parting as she leaned a little more into him, both of them sighing through the lazy kiss they shared. It felt so familiar. Like coming back home. Even though she had to hold her long hair to the side so she wouldn't bury him with it, their laugh dying into a deeper kiss, his hands greedily pressing her to him.

"This is the nicest good morning I've ever had," he teased her.

"Is it?" she asked against his lips, playfully raising one brow at him. "I think my plan is to keep you in bed though."

"Are you sure?"

They'd been messing around before, but it had never involved her lying on top of him with so little clothing. Or the way her hips shifted to help a certain part of his anatomy in its rousing.

She tried pulling away to better see the look on his face, but Noctis held her close, pushing himself upwards to make sure their lips kept brushing as they spoke.

"I feel certain, my King. What about you?"

"Gods, I… I still need to make you my Queen, but you know you already are in my heart, don't you?"

Her blush was adorable and so was his, and she kissed him yes, all the self-doubts gone with this sense of being almost complete once more. All that she was lacking, all that she needed now was his touch, his hands everywhere, his skin. Her hands drew a path down his ribs, stroking the undefined line of his abs, she could feel him tensing with every new caress and his surprised yelp when she shifted over to pull down his boxers, her eyes travelling down his body with a thirst he'd never seen in her before.

Even with the years he had over her, a shot of embarrassment took over his lust, especially since Luna seemed intent on staring, her hands settling on his hips, both thumbs brushing along the dark and curly hairs.

"I thought I would be more intimidated," she confessed, her face flushed, reaching one hand up and Noctis grabbed her wrists, unsure how he would react if she was to touch him right away.

"Shouldn't you be naked too?" he asked to recover from how embarrassed he felt.

Luna's answer was bold, guiding his hands to her parted thighs.

"Undress me like you want, Noct."

The way he blinked at her once and swallowed made her realize just how inexperienced they both felt. Every touch was new and somehow familiar at the same time.

"I want this to feel natural. Like how I feel right now with my magic back. I want us to feel as right as novels pretend two persons can be," she blushed, ashamed at how childish it sounded, but her widening flush seemed to give some confidence to her King.

His hands slipped beneath her gown, pulling the fabric upward as he drew shivers on both of her sides with his fingers. His eyes followed every bit of skin exposed. The curve of her hips, the flowers on her underwear. She shivered, feeling his gaze all over her, enveloping her like a blanket. He pulled himself forward, his abs tightening until he was sitting up, his hands never leaving her, pulling the fabric all the way up to her neck. Awkwardly, Luna lowered her arms to shrug off the straps of her gown, fighting against the nerve-wracking thought that she was this exposed. The dress was dropped to the side, Noctis's hands stroking her sides once more, his breath reaching her skin. Her nipples perked up, the princess feeling hyper aware about how she looked.

"I want to touch you…"

"You already are, Noct…"

She gasped as his hands cupped her breasts fully, giving them an experimental squeeze. There was a new hunger in his eyes and it only made her want more of his touch. She pulled his face to her with one hand, their lips meeting in a passionate dance as their fingers found shivers and traced goosebumps all over each other.

Luna couldn't help a violent moan as he teased her nipple, arching into his hands to let him know she wanted more.

And more he gave her, slowly learning how much pressure made her moan and squirm. His hands felt large on her ribcage as he pulled her closer, a hungry rumble in his throat, his head diving to her collarbone, his lips lighting a path of fire on her skin. He took his nipple in his mouth, making sure to give her other breast as much attention, Luna arching into him, her hands gripping his shoulders as she let the new sensations overwhelm her.

Noctis couldn't help the shift in his hips, his free hand bunching the fabric of her underwear to the side, fingers tentatively stroking her folds. She was wet and it somehow boosted his confidence even more. Seeing as the limits were gone, Luna wrapped one hand around his cock, gentle at first, teasing his tip to gather precum that she dragged along his length, relishing the tiny gasps escaping from his throat.

"Gods, Luna, I want you," he panted as her ministrations grew faster and faster, steadying her with one hand, their eyes meeting in the lustful daze, the wet sounds of flesh being teased into pleasure filling their ears.

She mouthed the words "kiss me", hoping it would help her keep her voice together. She hadn't prepared for this, but she'd been ready for his love a long time ago and his fingers couldn't be enough, when she knew how hard he was for her.

The kisses were rough with desire now, their tongues clashing, stroking, Noctis nibbling at her lower lip while she tried guiding him closer to her core. His tip brushed against her, the sensation enough to make her moan against his mouth, but he whimpered as the shifting and grinding proved not enough.

"You need help?" she teased him.

He blushed over his flush, blinking once at her, so close to the edge, she couldn't help regretting her own teasing.

"Please," he begged, any pride gone.

Luna parted her legs further, her underwear stretched to the side by then, worrying her lip as she realized what she was doing for an instant, but they had waited too long for this kind of intimacy.

"Hold me?"

"Always," came his answer, his lips kissing her cheek, the corner of her mouth and the spot in the crook of her shoulder where he'd previously left a mark.

Was she ever going to let him part from her after this?

She guided his cock to her entrance, lowering her hips a bit too wantonly to her taste, but the feel of him was enough to erase the burn of shame. What was there to be ashamed of when they were in the same state? They needed each other. They wanted…

"I don't know if I can take all of it," she confessed, the blush running down to her chest.

"You're in control, Luna. Don't…" She lowered herself a little more and he gasped, struggling to keep his eyes straight, "Fuck, I don't even know how long I can last…"

Despite the daze, she raised an eyebrow at him and Noctis simply squeezed her thighs, tugging down on her waist. She followed his direction, words unbefitting of a princess running across her mind. He was warm, so warm, and while he changed her, she could tell how affected he was by all of this.

"It feels good?" she asked him, bashful and playful and _aching_.

Noctis nodded, his moan weak and stretching into a groan as they looked for a rhythm. It felt awkward, if she pulled away too much, their connections would be lost and they didn't want to part, not fully, even though the friction was beyond good. He tried not to move to much, but his hips desperately wanted to push himself deeper inside of her.

"Don't hold back," she pleaded.

He cupped her breast with one hand, flicking her nipple and thrusted forward, Luna heaving a breathy sigh.

"Tell me what you want, Lun."

"You, Noct, I…"

His thumb found her clit and the burn she felt shifted into a wave, rushing further and further until her hips moved outside of her control. And yet his arms held her, his lips on her neck, passion taking over the knowledge of their own names. When the ripple of pleasure bloomed, Luna couldn't hold herself together, her voice coming out and he moaned with her, their bodies sinking into the sheets, her head drifting to his chest, every limb lax and overly tired. Noctis held her closer, trying to be careful in every gesture, heart spilling over with emotions.

"I can't believe we waited this long…" he whispered.

"I know!" she answered him, sounding almost childish. "Let's not wait more than a few days for a repeat, shall we?"

"Days? I've barely have a taste of you and you want me to wait for days!?" Noctis protested.

She chuckled, blushing and snuggling closer to him, half wondering if her body wasn't too heavy on him. But Noctis was kissing the top of her hair and stroking her back, humming in contentment.

"I love you," she told him.

"I love you too, Luna. And you were so right about the keeping me in bed part. I feel like I could sleep through the day."

"With me?"

"I hereby decreed that lady Lunafreya must not find shelter in any room where the King doesn't spend the night."

"Noct! For the love of Shiva!"

She struggled to raise herself above him, Noctis laughing at first, softening as he met her eyes.

"For the love of me," he asked her. "And for my undying love for you. Sleep next to me from now on. Through the nightmares and the dreams, with my arms as your one shelter. This way I'll feel safe that you're safe."

Her heart melted and she ruffled his hair in the hopes it would hide her blushing from him.

"Silly man, of course I'll sleep next to you. I was just waiting for you to ask."

 _They shared a smile and an nth kiss, softer and sweeter than its predecessors. They would have slept the entire day if it wasn't for Ignis nearly barging in on them to remind Noctis of his duties. The following embarrassment was worth it though. Luna moved into his rooms indefinitely, the pair soon sealing their union with a private wedding, waiting for the world to feel better until they had their mediatized celebration._

And now, their delayed honeymoon was over and Nifelheim threatened to darken the feelings in their hearts.

…

Ignis doubted Noctis needed to go down into the labs their scouts had discovered. After spending a few days in Tenebrae, they had moved to what was left of Nifelheim and the bunker of refuges. While Noctis fought daemons, Luna using her light on the wounded or ill, scouts went further down in the bunker, fighting paths leading to old labs that had been disaffected but held secrets that made even the King's advisor shudder. It disturbed all four of his intact senses.

The shock in Noctis's voice was enough for him to regret even voicing what was waiting down there.

"What the fuck did they do to her?!"

Lady Lunafreya had been captive for the empire for a long time and everyone in the kingdom had a suspicion those years had been spent in various sorts of pain, mostly due to isolation. While Luna had confessed some of the horrors she'd been through to her husband, she had kept a few to herself and his advisor had done everything in his power to contain the recent discovery made.

Beneath the surface, trapped in test tubes were clones of their Queen. Dozens of attempts at creating a second, a third and an nth Oracle.

"We need to be careful about this, Noctis. The people left from Nifelheim have nothing to do with that… research."

"The scouts had better stay silent about this until I see it for myself. Gods, Luna has faced enough shit as it is, she doesn't need that now."

She was finally happy and he wanted to keep her smile on her face, not to let her wander back into the most painful memories of her life. They were already dealing with dying and coming back to life. She was still hung up on the fact they might never have a child. Just being in Nifelheim…

She'd cried herself to sleep as he hid her in his arms, shushing her apologies for being this fragile. This land had taken so much from her. Her father, her mother, her brother…

"You shouldn't go down there alone."

Ignis wanted to offer his company, but he knew he might be more of a hindrance than anything. He could get by splendidly even in a new environment, but he didn't want to be lost in space when Noctis would be needing help. He'd called Prompto as soon as the news had gotten to him, hoping their friend would offer advice on how to face such a situation. And Prompto's reaction had been to jump on the first airship he could find.

"I don't think Luna would wish for anyone to see this. I want to protect her from this. To know if there's any other place like this one…"

"While I agree on protecting her," Ignis started, "she's far too involved to keep her out of the loop. I hope you realize that."

"Of course I do!" Noctis shot back, waving his arms hard enough to push a few papers off his friend's desk.

Ignis had had every file and audio journal gathered in his makeshift office, going through Verstael's logs for the past few hours. He was still having the many documents converted to a format his voice reader application could process. He wanted to leave the least trace possible of the whole deal, knowing far too well what the press would do if they were to gather that knowledge. The Nifelheim refuges would face hatred for what had been done to everyone's beloved Oracle. Cloning was a taboo no Lucian scientist had ever attempted and with the way certain soldiers had been created to provide the empire with more troops… and more daemons…

It was safe to say cloning was beyond controversial.

"Noct…" Ignis tried to stay calm, hoping it would induce an inkling of quiet in the older man.

"I won't do anything rash, Iggy, have some faith in me. I just… If she wants to go down there herself, I'd rather know what she has to expect."

They both wondered whether Luna had already recognized this place or if she was blissfully unaware of the fact science subjects directly related to her had been stored up in this location.

"I understand," the advisor sighed. "Just try not to torture yourself down there."

They both knew the guilt Noctis had been under for not rescuing Luna earlier. Or rescuing her at all.

The King had no answer to offer, giving a brief pat on Ignis's shoulder before heading out of the small office, dismissing his bodyguards who had been waiting in the hallway. He wanted to face the truth by himself first, alone, like Luna had been back then…

The labs were hidden three floors below, far enough that the staircases leading down that way had been found by accident as the King's men tried to locate hidden daemons. Instead they had found monsters much more terrifying. Noctis's bad leg ached by the time he was done with the stairs. 75 steps by case. Counting them has somehow helped with the growing pain, although focusing on that pain felt much better than thinking about what was waiting for him. The door had a key lock which had been hacked by the scouts. Prompto had given up the barcode on his forearm so that any Lucian soldiers from a rank deemed high enough for that information could get past Nifelheim security. It had saved a lot of lives when people had to take cover in the military bases left behind by the empire.

Noctis stepped into the dark room, holding back his breath as heat-sensitive lights turned on, detecting his presence. The air was stale and the first room was nothing but monitors and computers, reminding the King of Gralea's fortress. The ring tingled around his finger, echoing his thoughts with memories of every little price he needed to pay to keep himself alive back there. What had been the price for his Luna?

Taking slow steps as his eyes were still adjusting to the lighting, he spotted a door on the opposite wall and hurried forward. The space on the other side was organized differently, rows of glass tubs the size of an individual shower taking all the space except for one monitor. Machines rumbled on the walls, red and blue dots of light flashing at intervals. A few tubs were cracked, but on the second step, Noctis saw her. The many, many versions of her Verstael had trapped in here. The first one was only a girl, about the same age as when Noctis had first met her. Platinum blond hair long enough to reach her knees, having never been cut one time in her life.

 _Were you ever really alive? Trapped here, sleeping like this in stasis?_

His throat tightened as he noticed the dark veins tarnishing her white skin. The next one was just a bit older, but it wasn't the first thing he noticed about her. The flesh of her left arm stopped at her elbow, the only thing protruding being bones tied together by dark wires. There was a note on her tank dubbing her as "defective".

"No…"

There was a baby in the next tube, their skin grey and shriveled up from laying on the bottom of their tank for too long, the liquid in most of the tubes gone from this one. Noctis saw holes that had been dug in the small limbs, as though something had been extracted one day. His stomach recoiled, and still his eyes looked around.

Toddler Lunas were floating on his left, pale and ghostly. Their faces weren't smiling. Their eyes were closed. They didn't move, didn't breathe.

 _They killed her over and over._

The hate was growing in his heart, anger welling up. His brain was trying to compare this to the vision of Ardyn stabbing her. To the weakness she'd suffered from as they slowly recovered from being dead. Had it hurt any less than this? He wanted to erase this place, to find every scientist who had ever thought doing something like this could be right.

His Luna was worth so much more. She was the sun of this world, the hope in the dark and instead of treasuring her… they'd tried to manufacture her.

Some of the clones were bald. Some others were covered with dark, dying flesh. He couldn't see tear marks on their cheeks, but he knew they must have cried in pain even unconscious. His eyes registered numbers on the tanks. Registered missing limbs on little girls, and one tank filled with body parts and organs tagged…

 _Replacement parts_ , the tank said.

Noctis raised a trembling fist at no one, blinking but unable to see anything as disgust and a deep hatred wrapped themselves around his lungs. He couldn't breathe. His thoughts were all wrong and this room had to be fake, not even a madman like Verstael would…

"Luna is safe," he told himself. "Luna is safe now, you just saw her this morning."

Bile rose as his sight came back, as the horror seemed even clearer than before… Was that a skull on that desk?

He tried to reach the wall, where he wouldn't have to see all those poor girls. His girl. His wife.

His legs trembled, and he blinked away angry tears. Saw a strange metal container enclosed in the wall and squinted to decipher the words.

 _Eggs samples # 12_

He blinked, trying to understand what it meant. Something clicked but he couldn't remember… She'd said she was barren and suddenly he had a suspicion as to why. It hadn't even been a sacrifice she'd done willingly.

 _Luna sitting in the doctor's office, her face pale and hard from holding back all the pain in her past. Weak and frail from remaining a ghost for ten whole years, still needing machines to pump nutrients into her, too weak to walk on her own. They had questioned her about tests results and she'd refused to talk._

" _I'd rather not go back on everything they did to me…" she whispered in his memories._

Noctis turned his back and tried to find a spot to focus, a tile on the floor, just a tile on the floor that he could keep in sight without letting his gaze wonder back to all those poor girls. He warped forward three times and stumbled out of the door, out of breath, half out of his senses. He needed something to punch, he wanted to kill someone, but most of all, he needed to see her. He had to wait until he was up the stairs for his phone to receive a glimmer of a signal and Ignis's voice could answer fast enough.

"Yes, Noct," his friend barely managed to say as Noctis was already speaking back.

"Where is she?!"

Ignis didn't need to ask who the King was talking about.

"Lunafreya is on her lunchbreak in the common room."

"Thanks."

Noctis hung up without thinking, hurrying himself up more stairs, his bad leg positively burning by the time he was in sight of the common room. He stormed into the room, an old gymnasium turned into a barebone cafeteria, rushing as though a Cerberus was coming after him. He couldn't calm down or be bothered by the heads raising and the staring. His eyes were looking for his wife, who'd looked up from her plate and put down her fork, offering a word of reassurance to Aurora who was sitting between her and Aranea.

One look was enough to know something was very, very wrong. Noctis hadn't looked this gloomy in a while, even though he'd been fighting daemons for weeks and hated every minute of it. It reminded him of his travel to Altissia. His hopes to finally see her and the cruel twist of fate imposed by Ardyn. Right now, he was doing everything he could not to crumble into a heap of shaking limbs and Luna felt the painful tugs on her heartstrings at the sight of her troubled husband.

What could have happened to put him in such a state?

"Noctis…" she started, standing from her chair.

"I need to see you," he answered, grabbing her hand in his, oblivious to the rest of the people in the cafeteria who were either muttering or staring as subtly as they could.

"What happened?"

Noctis shook his head, wrapping one arm around her to guide her to the nearest exit. He didn't think of answering Aranea's questions, didn't let the women exchange more than a glance, Luna even more alarmed by the urgency in his gestures. He was struggling to keep a straight face and his shoulders held high, knowing the people needed to see a strong front from their King.

"For the love of gods, Noctis, you're scaring me," Luna whispered as soon as the door closed behind them.

The cold, metal hallways of this bunker felt too harsh for the words he wanted to tell her, far too harsh for the caresses he needed to give her.

"Not here," he simply said, halting as she missed a step, hooking one arm under her legs to lift her up, carrying her bridal-style without even asking for her permission.

"Noct!" Luna protested, her cheeks warming up, "I can walk by myself, I…!"

"Indulge me," he pleaded, holding her even closer.

She almost recognized the smell on him, ammonia and something else, but instead of questioning it, she leaned her head in the crook of his neck, trying to calm down the beating of her heart. She wouldn't be flustered by this, he was clearly shaken by something big and as soon as he'd talk, she could comfort him and hopefully take the worst of it away.

He carried her all the way to their chamber, which was much smaller then the one they had home, but at least it was private space. Luna could hardly believe he refused to put her down, locking the door like he asked while still being held safely in his arms.

"You're tiring yourself and…"

"I love you," Noctis cut her off.

It was sincere despite the panic looming behind and she gasped, memories of being apart threatening to take away her fleeting calm. Noctis sat down on the corner of their bed, sitting Luna in his lap, cupping her face with one hand and repeating his words.

"I love you, Luna."

He tried kissing her lips, but she turned her head to the side, blushing and smiling despite the nagging worries she felt. She held him in place, giving him a serious look until he was looking into her eyes and not trying to dive back in for a kiss.

"Were you assaulted by some rabid fangirls again?"

"What?"

"The last time you were this panicked, some very hormonal ladies had tackled you in the middle of that exposition."

He did chuckle at that, even if his smile didn't fully reach his eyes. It had been at the very beginning of their second time on Eos, when he'd started making public appearances again while she was stuck in the hospital. He'd felt so guilty and had been afraid she'd get jealous or insecure when all she could do was laugh and heave contented sighs as he held her like the most precious thing he'd ever seen in his life. Like he was now.

"I'm sorry, Lun, I'm stressing you out, I just… I _need_ to feel your warmth," he confessed, his voice breaking on the last words.

She couldn't refuse his new kiss, nor all the ones that followed, Luna kissing him back with enough fervor to prove she truly was alive if it was what he was worried about.

"I'm here, how many times…?"

"I know. I know I'm being childish and clingy but…"

Whenever he blinked he saw their pale skin, the hues of blue and the bones and… Her face in every stage of her past, like that face drifting away from him in a sea of sylleblossums. A shuddering sound escaped his lips and he started rocking her, stroking her hair and whispering, "my Luna, my Luna… You're safe, you're safe, Luna…"

She held him back, wondering if he knew something she didn't, somehow scared she could crumble back into dust if it wasn't for his arms. How she wished her light could help calm him down, wishing whatever he'd seen, heard or done, she could mend it, but willing to wait until he had regained his senses enough to tell her what was wrong.

Noctis hated knowing he caused her shivers and coughed on a sob, reeling himself in as best as he could.

"We had scouts looking for daemons earlier today. They found one of Verstael's labs instead. I don't know if it was moved or… I hope you won't be angry at me for not asking you first, but I went to see it for myself."

"Why would you need to ask me about it? What was…"

She paused, understanding dawning on her. She shuddered as the memories threatened to take over her mind.

"Noct, what was in there?!"

She shuffled backward, meeting his eyes and the sadness and shame written all over it was enough for her throat to close on itself.

"You never told me what they did to you. I don't want you to go back there, but that place…"

"Noctis, please, talk to me plainly!"

"There were clones of you," he managed despite the knot in his throat. "None of them alive…"

She covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes widening despite the understanding he saw in those deep blues.

"You mean, there was more than one? I thought he'd stopped after…"

Her mouth hung open as her hands joined nervously, her breathing turning ragged. Noctis shook his head, swallowing back the words that came to his mind. Seeing all those body parts in a tank knowing it was… He couldn't listen to his need to share that horror in the hope it might lessen it.

"I know for a fact none of the operations they had me go through took place here. It was closer to Tenebrae. It was…" She blinked too many times, desperately pushing away the pictures that came to her mind, Noctis steadying her in his embrace. Luna's voice was faint as she recalled the most difficult moments, outside of the shots, the procedures and the removal. "Verstael had me trying to heal that younger version of myself when I was 18… She had internal hemorrhaging for her entire life, the synthetic magic they tried to grow inside her was… destroying her body."

"Shit, Luna, that's…"

"How many were there? I know they…"

Verstael had called those ops "harvesting" her and the dread from those years came back to her as the word nearly left her lips. She struggled for her voice to work despite her constricted chest and the soreness in her throat.

"I guess I should go down there and see it for myself?"

Noctis instantly shook his head and the pain laced with fear in his eyes was enough to know she'd loathe whatever was waiting down there.

"Isn't it fair that I know?!" she insisted. "I was never sure how to look at that poor girl. Was she my sister? My daughter? Or was she me?"

 _I never could pray for her. I tried but something always…_

Her sobs took over, Noctis feeling steady despite his own trembling with how much she shook. It was hard to get herself over the crying, it was nearly impossible and when she felt too weak to cry anymore, she asked him once more to tell her of what he'd seen.

"Luna, please."

"If I'm supposed to live for them…"

"You should live for yourself and no one else!" he instantly protested.

"But we can't leave them like this, can we?"

Noctis hadn't even start thinking about that, but if those clones were dead, they should be laid to rest properly. And yet he was afraid about handling the whole thing. Not only because it was about Luna. Or because it meant burying her in a certain way, even though the very thought made his skin crawl. How could he tell the world of what had been done to his wife? And risk people questioning her? Why did his mind have to jump there? The fact she had died once…

 _She's your Luna, she remembers you, stop right there._

They shared a long moment of silence, which Luna interrupted with a request that was bound to break her heart.

"Take me down there, Noct."

He had no right refusing her, but he doubted facing those closes would do her any good. He knew how shaken Prompto had been when confronted with the same reality.

"I don't think you need to see this. But if you really want to go…"

She nodded, fighting against more tears, hoping that maybe seeing it for herself and acknowledging what needed to be done would take away the fears and all the remnants of those dark times in her life.

…

The walk down the stairs was tough on both royals, Luna standing strong and keeping herself together to convince Noctis she could face the labs he'd been through. After asking her whether or not she was certain for over a dozen times, he stopped, holding her hand and keeping a close eye on her. Every step reminded her of her past with the empire. How Verstael would dictate her days and nights if it meant following the schedule of tests and operations he had lined up for her. They controlled her diet, her sleep and so many more aspects of her life, it was hard to believe she hadn't entirely lost herself to it.

Noctis was at a loss as to what he should tell her, even though the walk down the stairs ended far sooner than they'd both expected it to. The first room with the screens and control panels barely affected him by then, but Luna stilled under the neon light, her hand pulling back on his wrist slightly.

He hadn't realized the rush he was in, but he wanted to be done with this, hoping he could just move on. Meanwhile, Luna hadn't realized how deep the scars were running and how fresh they would feel as she stood between more of the empire's walls.

The stagnant air filled her nose, her throat seizing as pictures merged with the present. Beeping sounds and the violent light when she'd wake up on a different table. Was their light always this crude to mock the light she alone could muster? The memories invaded her, flooding her senses, her respiration slowing down.

" _We need more genetic material."_

" _We need a miracle."_

" _I've had enough…" she'd whispered back, only to be met by surprised stares and the mocking smile on Verstael's face._

" _I call the shots, my lady. And since I'm talking about those, it's about time for a few more…"_

She shivered, shaking her head left and right, Noctis fully turning to her, holding her shoulders in the hope he could have her snap back to reality.

"Luna?"

She blinked, gasping, her chest raising and falling back down at an accelerated pace as she realized she'd been holding her breath. His eyes were fragile and she couldn't help a shiver at the sight of the door in the back, left ajar. Her clones were waiting. The only daughters the empire would ever allow her to have. Reflections of how broken she could be. And how fair was that way of thinking, since they should have been their own persons?

"I should go see them at least once, shouldn't I?" she asked, her voice shuddering in and out.

Noctis shook his head, holding her closer as her shaking grew.

"I told you already…"

"If I don't acknowledge them, who will…?"

"I did," he assured her. "You don't need to hurt yourself any further."

"But they hurt these girls. _My_ girls…"

Tears rolled down her eyes as she tried to muster some strength, any kind of strength, blinking and drying her eyes to no avail.

"If all the cl… clones are dead, why hide them here? Why even transport them here? I know they started growing in a facility in Tenebrae… Could there be more than one place with…?"

"Luna, Luna, calm down, Ignis is going over the files as we're speaking…" he tried to comfort her.

"I should be reading those files!" she objected, pushing his arms away, angrier at herself than at him.

She could never feel anger against Noctis, maybe for a few seconds if he did something particularly dumb, and even then…

"You have a right to read the files if you want," Noct agreed, "but it's not an obligation. You don't owe anyone anything, Luna."

 _But they're a part of me. If I can't even look at them, how can I look at myself in the mirror and let people call me a savior?_

Her logic was very weak, thinking the word weak actually made her legs falter under her weight and Noctis caught her, kneeling by her side as all the contradicting emotions came rushing out. Anger mixing with resentment, pain and fear. Why couldn't she take those few more steps? Why was her imagination even scarier than reality? Had she seen so many horrors already that she couldn't face more of it?

 _If I step in and blink, I'll see things that aren't real. I'll imagine them breathing. I'll break down before my third step in that room, and Noctis will have to look after me and I'm sick of being a burden to him._

She hid her face against his chest, her sobs muffled by the fabric of his shirt, his hands drawing gentle circles across her back.

"How… how old are they?"

Noctis shook his head, fighting against his own tears, all for her sake and Luna couldn't help hating how unfair this was.

Why did she matter more than any of these poor creatures? If she was given a second chance, why couldn't any of her clones have that too?

"I'm not strong enough…"

"Now you're ludicrous, Luna! You went through all their shit and…!"

She whimpered, her trembling growing so violent he was afraid she was about to have a seizure. Like those crises back when her body was constantly betraying her. Her fingers dug into his shirt, pinching him in her desperation.

 _That one girl who had looked like her. That one girl clinging to life while hooked on machines replacing every function her failing body couldn't take. Her lungs had turned black and hard. Her veins had tightened, her blood boiling and freezing in places. Nothing made sense about her condition. Nothing could be fixed and instead of healing her, Luna's magic had seemed to push the process of degradation even further along…_

"I can't… do it again!" she managed through the whimpering sobs.

"Luna…"

"I can't…!"

Verstael had encouraged that she went on. That she tried just a little bit harder while he injected more serum into the girl. Into her dying mirror image.

How could one watch themselves die and retain their sanity? Was it because she had a goal then? Was it because of those excited letters Noctis kept sending to her and the dream in her heart of seeing him and forgetting all the bad she'd been exposed to?

 _Your goal is achieved now. So you have no strength left?_ She pondered with herself.

Thinking she had no goal was painful and her thoughts shifted in a dozen different directions, coming to the same conclusion. She had one feasible dream left, and it concerned the man holding her close.

"I want… to make you happy," she blurted out through the tears.

Noctis didn't know how he didn't melt right there. His arms simply held her closer.

"I'm happy if you are, Luna," he whispered, kissing her hair. "Let's get you out of here, if that's okay with you?"

She nodded weakly, barely opposing the fact he lifted her in his arms once more. It was true that she had many more tears to shed, and not much strength left in her just from remembering everything the cloning entailed for her. She still got to her feet as soon as possible, because as strong and dashing as her King was, she refused to let him push himself for her sake. His hand never left her, and they made sure to take the shortest route to their chamber to avoid civilians as best as they could. Luna had to settle for cuddles with her husband as comfort. Normally, she would have drifted in a warm bath with a book, or snuggle with him on the couch in front of their favorite movie, but neither option was possible.

"You really won't tell me how they looked?" she insisted.

"I could tell you how you look," Noctis offered, brushing her forearm from the inside of her elbow to her wrist. They were lying close, her back to his chest and his nose diving in her hair periodically.

"Oh no, I'll start making comparisons in my head to try and picture them."

He looked at the ceiling, biting on his lower lip as he realized just how hard it was going to be to help her get over this.

"They reminded me of the first girl I ever loved. The woman in my arms. I wish I could have you next to me all the time, Luna."

"I'm here now."

"That's what I want you to focus on."

His hands felt heavier, greedier and she couldn't help a gasp as he held her hips firmly to him.

"I'm the bride from hell with puffy eyes and a runny nose, how can you even find me appealing right now?"

"Do I really look much better? I just want to run away with you and I'm not taking you out on a walk."

"So sex is the next best thing?"

"It's good for your health," Noctis couldn't help himself, Luna snorting as she pictured the large smile on his face.

"You'll need to be sweeter than that to get in my pants, your Majesty."

He replied by kissing her neck, quickly finding the spot that made her knees go weak. She held back her voice through the first few kisses, a moan soon making it past her lips.

"We shouldn't…" she tried to reason with him.

"You look like you need to be loved more," he shot back, pushing himself up as she rolled around, their eyes meeting, various emotions fighting over the lust and need for tenderness.

"And here I remember you insisting it was impossible for you to love me more?"

Noctis blushed at that.

"What must I do to seduce my wife?"

"Hold me," she suggested.

Like she'd ever have to ask.

…

After seeing the royal couple disappear without so much as an explanation, Aranea decided to run her own investigation. Aurora wanted to be a part of it, but it didn't take long for both Highwind women to suspect something truly dramatic was going on. A few soldiers had been whispering between themselves and upon visiting Ignis's temporary office, the former commodore new her daughter needed to be kept away from the dark secrets that had been uncovered.

"I can help father by reading some files to him! I'm faster than the program," the young girl observed.

"It's a very kind offer 'Rora," Ignis thanked her, ruffling her hair somehow roughly as he declined the said offer, "but your dad would rather you focus on the readings we've brought with us."

Aranea had always told him letting a seven-year-old read aloud politic textbook would get him in trouble one day, but the dark look on his face barely softening for their daughter convinced her Aurora needed to be protected.

"Head back to your room for now, zep-girl."

"I want to stay until dad's smiling again."

Ignis sighed at that, Aranea shaking her head slightly.

"I'll work on that for us both, how does that sound?"

Aurora agreed to get back to her room, following the guard waiting by the door and Aranea didn't waste a minute to pick one of the many files Ignis had piled up on his desk.

"What's all the fuss about?"

"It seems Prompto wasn't the only of our friends to be cloned…" Ignis explained.

He looked excessively tired, almost older than he was, and Aranea nearly hissed as between a picture showed between the data files. It was the infected limb of a child, cut off the rest of their body, the tiny hand almost blue in spots.

"Good gods, Iggy, there are pictures in there! Aurora could have seen that shit…"

"Why do you believe I scrambled to close all those files when she hurried into the room?" He felt an immediate pang of disappointment at himself for growing defensive. Heaving a deep sigh, he pinched the bridge of his nose, hard. His visor was given up on the desk, buried under files and wires. "I've been trying to cram all the information I could gather… I want to avoid Luna and Noctis unnecessary pain."

"So you're hurting yourself in the process," she deduced. "You had promised to be a little more selfish for my sake."

Another sigh, heavier this time.

"They made 45 clones of the Oracle. 45, Aranea. Forced Luna to try and heal one almost as soon as she got into her powers."

"Are you telling me what's left of them is here? Noctis went to see it for himself?!"

Her voice grew higher than normal and Ignis simply nodded, reaching one hand out to her. She reached back, humming from the very touch of his palm against her. His skin was rough, Ignis flinching as she squeeze his hand, blaming a few papercuts for it. That would normally make her laugh at him for his "office warrior's wounds", but she didn't have the heart for it right now.

"Why are you even pushing yourself through all those files when you could just encourage Luna to move on from all this… sick shit?"

"I was hoping I could find a silver lining. Like a positive discovery or something."

"I know you like to believe that everything happens for a reason, but sometimes…"

Ignis shook his head at her, the hint of hope showing on his face.

"I did find a silver lining," he cut her off. "They gathered and froze many of her eggs during the years of testing. Many samples are intact and could be used…"

Almost every dark thought left her and Aranea gripped his shoulders, the advisor jumping at the sudden motion.

"Are you telling me they can have a baby?!"

"No, I don't _know_ that yet! There's still a bunch of things to have verified and…"

"Why aren't you working on that?!"

"I was…!"

"I need to know! The poor girl has been despairing about it and…That's it! I could be their surrogate mother!"

He blinked at her, pushing her backward, the shock written all over his face.

"Where's that coming from?!" Ignis demanded to know, outrage clear in his voice. "Why would they even need…"

Aranea knew Luna's entire situation and that frozen eggs in working order wouldn't be enough to make a baby come true.

"It's science, silly man, why are you reacting like that?"

"It seems a bit extreme to me," he insisted, cocking his head to the side as he worried his lower lip, daring to add, "…aren't you a bit old for…?"

Her gasp was beyond outrage.

"Now that's crass!" Aranea exclaimed, pressing two fingers into her own chest as to support her point. "I'm only 34, I can handle a pregnancy just fine!"

He raised his arms as protection, trying to muster apologies despite his brain still in the middle of processing the idea. Not that he wouldn't roll with it if it meant giving their best friends a family, but…

"A royal surrogate pregnancy would be a political nightmare…" he whispered.

"Ignis! Don't you care at all about what Noctis and Luna want? This is the best news they'll have had in weeks!"

"You know I care. But I also care about the fact my wife would go through 9 months of hormonal changes to give birth to my nephew instead of _our_ kid."

"You want another kid?"

"I don't know!"

Her voice had rose even higher than before and Ignis didn't realize he was shouting back by now, registering it as he panted for air.

A knock on the door made them both jump, looking over their shoulders, Aranea spotting a sheepish guard poking his head through the doorway, Ignis perceiving nervous breathing by the entrance of the room.

"Everything okay in there?"

The Scientia/Highwind pair arguing was rare to say the least. They both deflated as they regained some of their senses. What were they doing, arguing when both Luna and Noctis were agonizing over the past?

"We'll be fine," they both sighed, the guard nodding with an apology and quickly closing the door once more.

"I'm sorry," Aranea started.

"I apologize for getting this worked up," Ignis said at the same time. "You took me by surprise."

"I saw that. You've been having a rough day too. I can't begin to imagine how much this day sucks for Luna…"

He nodded, fighting against an nth sigh.

"You're serious about this surrogate thing, aren't you?"

"You gave your eyes for Noctis, surely I can loan my uterus for my best friend?"

His wince made her laugh, even though it was a weak sound, Aranea understanding where his discomfort was coming from. She knew it was big decision, but she wouldn't let him oppose it, since that decision had been taken away from Luna. The Queen would have a right to decide for herself.

"I have very weird mental images in my head now. If I blurt out the word uterus at dinner, you'll have to take the blame."

"That sounds ridiculous Iggy! Aurora will be at the dinner table," she chuckled.

And it was then that they both wondered how a surrogate pregnancy would even work, seeing as they already had a child. Now that was an awkward conversation Ignis was ready to pass upon.

"Anyway, as soon as you know what the fuck is up with those frozen eggs, you'll tell Luna?"

"Of course. Although I wonder how…"

Aranea elbowed him in the ribs with a smirk.

"It requires opening your mouth and forming sounds by moving your lips and tongue so the eventual words come out."

He caught her arm, giving her a twirl so he could hold her close to him.

" _Which words_ was more along the question I had in mind."

"She needs to know ASAP, that's what matters."

He agreed with her, his line of thought interrupted by a phone call and news from the labs he'd contacted. The results would be in soon.

To be continued…

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Next chapter will come in a few months, since my thesis is taking over my life. As always, comments give me life.


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